

God is Love

By Tiaan Gildenhuys

Copyright 2013 Tiaan Gildenhuys

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

1. Write about My love!

2. One can hear God's voice

3. My people are ignorant!

4. God knows and tests our hearts

5. What is the greatest force in the universe?

6. What are the people going to think of me?

7. What is love?

8. Spirit, soul and body

9. Does my past determine my future?

10. The choice is simple- become born again!

11. The prodigal son.

12. It's so easy- simply accept it!

13. Being justified by faith remains the crux of the matter.

14. Love in relationships.

15. My beloved knocks at the door- of my heart.

16. Has Jesus visited you yet?

17. Love and peace brings forth forgiveness

18. Peace will conquer!

19. I may not pass judgment.

20. God singles out no-one as a favorite.

21. We have to walk in unity of spirit.

22. God's dividing line is very thin.

23. Password: Humility

24. Watch out for spiritual pride

25. What you sow you will reap

26. What about the "least amongst us" that the Bible refers to?

27. Are we Jews...or are we Israelites?

28. In God's eyes we are all equal.

29. The first multi-racial church (in Antioch)

30. Does racial discrimination (in any form) equal love?

31. The signs of the last days

32. The fruit of the Spirit

33. Tithing, or my finances in God's hands

34. Oh "damn", this swearing!

35. Brandy has no brakes

36. Light and darkness

37. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood – also known as satan's camouflage

38. The good Sower

About the Author

Preface

I wrote the printed version of this book in 2001, after having given my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ in 1999. Since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge and the Lord has revealed Himself to me in numerous ways from His Word, the Bible and also in other ways.

At the end of 2012 I experienced in my spirit that the Lord wanted me to revise this book and to publish it as an e-book. During the time I spent revising this book, it was just awesome to realize how true the Holy Spirit is to the Word of God, and how the things He led me to write in 2001, was still applicable in the lives of my family to this day.

May this book help you as reader to also realize how wonderful our Creator God is, and what an amazing adventure it is to serve Him on a daily basis, and to have a personal relationship with Him. And may this lead to you living a life of victory over all the attacks of the enemy in your life.

Tiaan Gildenhuys (February 2013)

1. Write about My love! (Back to top)

Since I gave my heart to the Lord on August 28, 1999, He started giving me certain very clear instructions, sometimes directly from His Word, sometimes by way of revelations in my spirit. My first very clear instruction was the writing of my personal testimony about my personal salvation and what has happened to me since then. Shortly after having finished that, the Lord instructed me to write this book, inter alia because of the following reasons:

so many people do not realize on a daily basis exactly how all-encompassing and unconditional God's love really is; and

certain groups of people are of the opinion that only certain race groups can or may be Christians, and can therefore go to heaven; and

because our people do not walk in the Spiritual unity He planned for us from the beginning of time; and

because we do not really understand or experience what God's will for our lives is.

Often God's repeated instruction to me, as I sat in front of my computer was this: "Tiaan, you just write about My love, just write about My love!" And all that I could do was to start typing, and to write about His wonderful LOVE! I pray therefore that you may be touched, through reading this book, by the fact that His love is WONDERFUL, all-encompassing, predominant, comprehensive, PERFECT – and part of EVERY ASPECT of our normal, day to day lives! Please note - EVERY aspect, there is NOTHING that God's love does not touch around us every day, in one way or another.

Because, very clearly, the Bible states:

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:8)

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

You see dear friend, God IS Love, He does not only GIVE love, like we do. No He IS LOVE! That is what He is, who He is and how He is, every moment since the beginning of time, and until the end of time. Hallelujah! And Amen! So I started to write.... And I ask you to please walk with me through every chapter of this book because maybe, just maybe, God wants to tell yóú something from these pages...

2. One can hear God's voice (Back to top)

When Jesus Christ personally exonerates you, you begin experiencing Him in a wonderful, sometimes literally breathtaking, personal way. I regularly get goose-bumps when I am busy praying to Him or speaking to Him. At other times it feels like a rushing river inside of me – how else, with another living being (Spirit) inside of me? Gee, how can I say: "...another..."! It is THE one and only living Spirit! When you start to walk the walk with Jesus, you also start to "hear" His voice very clearly in so many different ways.

The reason for this is that, the closer you get to God, the clearer you hear His voice, and the clearer you hear his voice, the closer you WANT to get to Him, and the closer you get to Him, the clearer you hear his voice, et cetera......

The "hearing" of His voice very definitely stems from the personal relationship you have with God. As that personal relationship grows more intimate, the clearer His soft voice becomes, which wants to implant God's Word in us, as stated in James 1:21:

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."

The condition is that I listen when that soft voice speaks, and that I obey His voice, otherwise I am only grieving Holy Spirit with my disobedience, and will He gradually start to withdraw Himself from me. By gradually withdrawing Himself I do not mean that He will totally remove Himself from me, but only that He will lie dormant inside me, waiting for that time that I again start using Him correctly, by depending on Him with and for EVERYTHING I do, enabling Him to demonstrate His power in and through me in such a manner that I, and the world around me, may again glorify Him for the new things He does in me and with me.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

For the same reason Proverbs 3:5-6 states very clearly:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

The code words here, naturally, are: "...in ALL thy ways..." We cannot attempt to solve certain things in our lives on our own or in our own power ("...lean not unto thine own understanding..."), while being content to trust Him for those other things in our lives that we feel we can not handle personally. No God wants us to share EVERY little aspect of our lives – albeit very small, or very big, (from our choice of which clothes to wear, or what food to cook, or which house to buy)-, with Him, and that we should not "lean on our own understanding", and THEN He will direct our paths and ensure that we walk on the right road – the road which HE has planned for us, and NOT the one we always so dearly wish to plan for ourselves.

In other words, I must learn to be sensitive to His voice and His directions in EVERY aspect of my life. I cannot say: "Lord I entrust my marriage to You, but Lord I refuse for You to also take my career into Your hands." The reason being that I am of the opinion that I am qualified to handle any problem coming my way in my own strength and knowledge. Or on the other hand, to entrust my career to the Lord, but to decline His help with the education of my children. No when God says: "In ALL thy ways acknowledge Me...", it literally and physically includes EVERY possible dimension of our lives. Don't shut Him out. Ever!

Many times I have heard the question: "How do I really know that God is speaking, and that it is not satan, or maybe just my own thoughts?" I have also asked that same question to myself a few times in the past. But as a result of the personal relationship that I have the privilege to have with Him, I know that I know that He dóés talk to me in various ways. I have also had the privilege to read a book titled: "IS IT YOU LORD?" by Robert J Watkins. In the book the author refers to six specific questions you can ask in order to ascertain whether it really was God speaking to you. I would like to refer to these questions here, as it most definitely works the way it is stated in the said book.

These questions are:

Do you need faith to react to what you have heard? God wants us to walk in faith. Therefore, if the words I heard would require faith, it's most definitely God's words.

Do you need God's help to carry out the instruction? If I will be able to do anything I heard in my own strength only, it does not come from God.

Does it require courage to carry out what you heard? What I may have to do might result in my being opposed very strongly, or may even bring real and physical persecution of some kind or another, which I must be willing to endure.

Are the words you heard contradictory to your human logic? It sometimes happens that certain things that come up in one's mind and which does come directly from God, are contradictory to our human mind and logic, because the Lord does not always work according to "acceptable" human norms and standards. So for example, it happens quite frequently that your finances are in a mess, but God tells you to give away money to somebody else. From a human point of view it is just not logical. God's plan for our lives however, is to bless us, and He wants to see how obedient we are, even in circumstances which may look illogical to our human minds.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 55:8)

Do you have peace in your heart? After having made a decision as a result of what you have heard, there should be no uncertainty or restlessness left in your heart. If you do still have the least bit of uncertainty or restlessness about the matter, be sure that it most definitely does not come from God, and that it most probably was your own thoughts, or the devil's subtle input. Should you still experience some restlessness or an uncertainty, please do not proceed to do the thing you prayed for at that time! Keep on praying for it and wait for the right answer, which the Lord will most definitely give to you, coupled with His peace.

Are the things you have heard, compatible with the Bible? You should be able to find two or even three texts, which confirms the aspect for you.

If you are able to answer "yes" on every one of the six questions, after having heard something, you can accept with all certainty that it was the Lord's voice you heard with regards to that specific aspect. On the other hand, if you answered "no" to any one of them, you must keep on praying and keep on waiting for the right answer, before summarily accepting that it was indeed His voice.

The author of the said book also gives four guide-lines to how I would know it was satan speaking to me, namely:

He always tries to persuade you to sin against God. If I know the Word of God and really make it my own, I will immediately know if the result of that which the "little voice" told me, will lead to sin.

His way always looks the easiest. The best example of this is when my problems become so large that "I" decide the best way out of my predicament is to commit suicide, because it looks like the best, the easiest or the only solution under the circumstances. No God will never want us to make such a decision!

Satan always perverts or distorts God's words. Remember the devil knows the Bible much better than most of us, and he knows exactly how to take a truth and to distort it only slightly. It sounds good and fine to us but if we REALLY know God's Word, we will immediately know that which we have heard is indeed wrong. I think the best example of this in the Bible, is where God tells Adam and Eve that they will die if they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What does satan do? He tells them they will not die, but will be like God Himself, through knowing everything. Only a small distortion of the truth – and look at the tragic results!

The devil tells us that we can do without God's help in certain circumstances. Compare this with the second question I quoted under the six questions I can ask myself in order to ascertain whether it was God talking to me. If I do not need God's help in such a case, and I think that I will be able to solve the specific problem in my own strength, I must immediately know where thát idea comes from!

There can be NO doubt whatsoever that God most assuredly talks to His children, although there still are people today who try to imply that God does not talk to His children, or that He only talks to a select few (like preachers or pastors). From own experience I can do no less than to totally reject that point of view. Dear friend you may be certain that when you start to walk on God's road of a personal relationship with Him, that He is most definitely also going to talk to yóú! Be prepared!

For me, personally, the best example that God does talk to me, was a situation not so long ago. The result of something that happened to me, during which time I was certain that I had heard His voice very clearly, but which did not turn out the way I thought or accepted, led to myself doubting whether I really do hear or can hear His voice. I started wrestling with God and I made it clear to Him that I now doubted whether I could hear His voice. We are allowed to wrestle with God, dear reader, because we áre His children! A few days after the incident that caused the doubt in my mind, a friend and I were on our way to a neighboring town to pick up his LDV. On the way there, my thoughts were with my wife and children, who at that stage were on holiday.

I wondered what they were doing and how they were enjoying the holiday. I can assure you, my thoughts were most definitely NOT on God at that time, partly as a result of the doubts I was having at the time and because I was also actually cross with the Lord. Suddenly the following words came up in my mind, very clearly: "Tiaan, you really do hear My voice!" I just started laughing and then shared the wonderful revelation with my perplexed friend. I praise the Name of a great and mighty God, who loves His children so much, and who cares about them so much, that He personally takes the time to give a very CLEAR answer to a child with doubt in his heart! I repeat therefore, that I know that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I dó hear my Father's wonderful voice. And so will yóú hear His voice when you start to walk with Him on the road of an intimate personal relationship!

There is only one way to really get to know and to recognize somebody's voice and that is by entering into and enjoying a lasting personal relationship with that person. The same applies to our Heavenly Father and getting to know and to recognize His voice – we need to be in a personal relationship with Him.

I have since also started the habit of asking the Person of the Holy Spirit to help me to pray when I am busy with Him during my prayer times in the evenings or early in the mornings. Every time the Holy Spirit reminds me to pray for certain people or circumstances which I can assure you are not always people who I necessarily have any contact with, or who I would have thought to pray for! Where do I get the notion that I may do this, you ask? From Him, dear friend! Please look at the words of Romans 8:26-27:

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

This means that if we do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit prays fór us. There is an old excuse why many people claim they do not pray often, claiming: "It feels as if I am praying against a ceiling". If so, why? Is it perhaps a lie from satan, or have you got unforgiveness, unconfessed sin, or other obstacles that are a hindrance to your prayer breaking through? Make sure about this first, dear friend. If all those things are out of the way and we still do not know what to pray, Holy Spirit prays FOR us. He does not pray for us in any normal kind of way, oh no! "...He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God..."

That is why I know that it is He who tells me in certain circumstances who to pray for, because I believe it is the will of God at that precise moment for me to pray for that person or for those circumstances. What the reason may be, I do not even know, or wish to know at that time. It is also not important to me, because I knów, I BELIEVE, it is His will and His instruction that I must pray like that in that moment. There is definitely NO way that I wish to disobey Him! So, I immediately pray for that person or circumstance and believe me friend, it is GREAT to pray like that!

3. My people are ignorant! (Back to top)

I have no doubt at all, that the reason for our deficient knowledge of the Bible, the gospel, and Jesus Christ personally, results from absolute ignorance. It is definitely not without reason that the Lord said, as far back as in Hosea 4:6:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."

and in Isaiah 5:13:

"Therefore my people are gone into (spiritual) captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished (for the truth of the gospel), and their multitude dried up with thirst (for the living water)."

Whose fault is this? Entirely our own! Through the years we have allowed ourselves to move into a "comfort-zone" in respect of our faith, our knowledge of Jesus Christ and our experience of the gospel. Instead of ensuring that we each build a PERSONAL relationship with Him, we have all sat back and required of our preachers and pastors to get us into heaven. A person I knew, even proclaimed the following philosophy of life: "I have my doctor to keep me healthy, my pharmacist to keep me stocked with medicine, my attorney to keep me out of trouble, and MY PREACHER TO GET MY SOUL INTO HEAVEN!" Dear, oh dear, how far from the truth can we get? No, no, and a thousand times, NO!

The ONLY one who can ensure that I get to heaven – or hell – is myself! My preacher or pastor is only there to equip me for the work I have to do as Christian believer,

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, (1) for the edifying of the body of Christ: (2) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and (3) of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ..." (Ephesians 4:11-12)

But the onus rests upon ME to make the right choices for Him, and to carry out His Biblical instructions.

"GO ye therefore, and TEACH all nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." (Matthew 28:19)

Go......teach......baptize...... Three interesting words, especially when you start walking the road with the living Jesus Christ in its fullest sense.

GO:

Go where? Everywhere! From as near as my own home, to the ends of the earth! It does not state that I can stay at home and ask the preacher, pastor or missionary to "go", no! I am the one who must go.

TEACH:

Teach what? I must teach all the people I may come into contact with, about Jesus Christ, thereby making them His "disciples", his STUDENTS. How do I do that? By testifying about Jesus Christ in my life! How do we conquer satan? Look how clearly it is stated in Revelations 12:11:

"And they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;..."

And what happens when I testify? Holy Spirit "reproves" (convicts/convinces) that person I am testifying to.

"And when he (Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment..." (John 16:8)

Through my testimony and Holy Spirit's conviction of that person, we have then "taught" another person how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ!

BAPTIZE

Baptize who? As a result of the fact that I started digging deeper into the Bible, I started reading about the baptism more and more, and do I have no doubt that the baptism (and here I refer to the "believer's baptism") is also part of the road of faith that one walks with Jesus Christ. For purposes of this chapter, I would like to quote the following verses. In Mark 16:16 Jesus Himself says to His disciples:

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

In Acts 2:38 Peter told the first converts:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Acts 22:14-16 states:

"And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

As we all know, Paul was a "perfect" church member who was bound to, and most definitely strictly complied with all the covenants of his church. Why then was it necessary for hím to be baptized after he personally met Jesus Christ – if this was not specifically God's intention for all believers?

See also Acts 10:47-48, where Peter ministered to people in Caesarea, an area of Gentiles, áfter those people had already been converted and therefore they were most definitely born again:

"Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he COMMANDED them to be baptized in the name of the Lord."

Paul also writes to the church in Rome, in Romans 6:4:

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Colossians 2:12:

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

In Galatians 3:26-27 Paul says:

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

Hebrews 10:21-22:

"And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

We must understand that the Greek word for "baptize" in the Bible is "baptizo", and according to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary it means: "... to make whelmed (that is, FULLY WET); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism: - baptist, baptize, WASH." That is why this last verse refers to our bodies "WASHED with pure water".

So if you haven't been "fully wet" you haven't been baptized yet. And that also means not one baby has ever really been "baptized" by having a few drops of water sprinkled on their foreheads.

I can go on and on in this manner about the Bible texts that eventually led to my decision to have myself duly baptized in the way the Bible isntructs, but I will end this section with three last verses, namely:

In 1 Peter 3:21b it states very clearly:

"The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

The final confirmation for me, personally was Matthew 3:15 where Jesus said to John the Baptist, when John felt so unworthy he did not even want to baptize Jesus:

"Suffer (allow) it to be so now: for THUS it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him."

And, lastly, note the words of Luke 7:29-30:

"And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers REJECTED THE COUNSEL OF GOD against themselves, being NOT baptized of him."

The "believer's baptism" therefore is in my opinion a personal matter between each born again child of God, and God Himself. It is not one that should be decided by the specific church or denomination a person belongs to, but I do personally have no doubt that it definitely IS God's will for me to be baptized. It is something that must happen AFTER I become born again, notwithstanding the church or denomination I belong to!

Go....teach....baptize.... REMEMBER these three little words on your road of faith with the Lord my dear friend. This Bible text (Matthew 28:19) is most definitely NOT only aimed at our churches' preachers and pastors. No, QUITE THE CONTRARY! It is specifically aimed at EACH BELIEVER (child of God) who is serious about the gospel and about Jesus Christ personally. The office of teacher/pastor came much later, as Paul refers thereto in Ephesians 4:11 under the so-called "five fold ministry".

According to the historians, Paul only wrote the letter to the Ephesians approximately 61/62 AD. This instruction, from the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself, years before Paul wrote about the different ministries was therefore FIRSTLY directed at the office of the BELIEVER. WE have the instruction to make disciples of ALL nations, WE have the instruction to TEACH the people about the gospel, et cetera.

Unfortunately it has become tradition over the years for most of us to just sit back when we hear about a couple with marriage problems, or a very sick person, or a needy family, and to call the preacher or pastor and to say: "Pastor, please go and help those people, because it is YOUR job, is it not?" Or we hoped that the church's charity committee would handle the problem. Then we self-complacently washed our hands and thought: "We have done our good deed for the day!" Just as long as we do not have to climb into the dust of the arena ourselves and dirty our hands (or our expensive suits). No, my friend! That Bible text tells YOU and ME: Get out of your suit, get down in the dust of the arena of life and help those people YOURSELF! Go pray for them YOURSELVES, encourage them YOURSELVES and where possible, help them materially YOURSELVES. That is OUR job, OUR instruction, children of God!

But precisely because we are so ignorant about the truth of the gospel in the Bible, satan easily comes and plants half-truths in our heads, which half-truths slowly but very surely turns us away from the truth of the Lord! Just look how beautifully Paul states it on two different occasions in his letter to the Ephesians:

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (and please listen carefully dear friend, the "children of disobedience" referred to here, most definitely includes many churchgoers of today!).... But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:1,2,4 en 5);

and also

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardening) of their heart..." (Ephesians 4:17-18)

Please, my dear friend – DON'T LET THE "HARDENING" OF YOUR HEART KEEP YOU IN IGNORANCE! No matter to which church denomination you belong.

Friend we simply do not know our Bibles. And although most of us are taught from an early age to: "read your Bible and pray before going to bed, you hear!" we just do not know how to make the Bible our very own. To quickly read a short paragraph and say a quick prayer just before (or even while), I fall asleep, is NOT enough. God wishes us to make each letter of the Word of God our own. We must, as a pastor said one day: "...take in the Word, drink it in, in such a way that our lives, our spirit, is DRENCHED therewith! We must meditate on it, memorize it!" Why? Because Ephesians 6:17 describes the Word of God as:

"And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God..."

The Word of God in the Bible therefore, is the sword with which we can fight against demonic attacks against our lives. Only if we have an intimate knowledge of the Bible and MAKE AN EFFORT to know more about it, and if we read it with our SPIRITUAL EYES, we will be able to use it as an answer to any attacks the world or satan and his demons may hurl against us. God wishes us to meditate on His Word daily, to ponder on it, and to make it an intricate part of our lives. Only then will we not be ignorant anymore. Only then will I - led by the Spirit - be ready with an answer at any given moment, should I be attacked about the gospel.

Friend if you have not done it yet, won't you start making an effort to really read your Bible? But don't let it stay at reading only! Each time you start to read your Bible, ask God to reveal through His Spirit what He wants to tell you from any given text. According to me, that is the reason why the preacher or pastor does a prayer each Sunday before he opens the Bible to read. And that is exactly the same thing we must do in our inner room during our personal quiet time.

Does this seem like too much of an effort to you? Do you think that when JESUS staggered to that cross for you and me, HE thought it was too much effort? Dear friend do you realize how much LOVE THAT was? DO YOU REALIZE how much Jesus loved and still loves YOU? Jesus staggered TO THE CROSS with every little ounce of power He had left IN ORDER TO fulfill His plan for your and my life. He did not try to get away from the cross. QUITE THE CONTRARY! Did you think for one minute that Jesus was manipulated to the cross by the Jews? Did you think perhaps, that He was crucified just because the Jews wanted to get Him out of the way? Yes, they surely wanted to think so.

No, He went to that cross because HE WANTED TO GO THERE! HE actually "manipulated" (if I may use such a word with great respect), and controlled the Jews, and Pilate, and everybody who was a part of those circumstances, to that point where they simply HAD to crucify Him. Why? SO THAT HE COULD FULFILL HIS PLAN! And when Pilate said: "Crucify..." He staggered to that cross with every ounce of power left in Him – to your and my SALVATION and FREEDOM! Man!...., do we even BEGIN to realize what God did for us?

And how do we repay that UNBELIEVABLY WONDERFUL love? Through a lukewarm effort we call "religion". But Tiaan, doesn't "religion" mean: "To serve God?" No friend, WRONG! Religion means... NOTHING! Why? Because God says in 2 Corinthians 3:6:

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit (Holy Spirit) giveth life."

JESUS CHRIST is everything! Over the years we started believing in religious traditions, instead of in God. It is NOT necessary to read chapters and chapters of the Bible. No, even if you only read a single text over and over for a whole week, and you meditate on it at work, and you talk to God about it daily, and about what He wants to tell you from it, only then are you in the process to finally erase your ignorance around the Word, and start to take in the knowledge of God, in the manner He initially meant it to be taken in.

I can assure you that those texts that are revealed to you by God Himself, forever becomes a part of your life and your memory. When I initially gave my heart to the Lord, and after I first listened to the above-mentioned words of that pastor about memorizing the Bible, I immediately flew off at a tangent, making a list of texts which sounded nice to ME and seemed important to ME. My list eventually consisted of approximately one hundred and forty six texts, and for approximately two months I really studied those texts, I tried memorizing them as I did at university. In other words, I "swotted" them! And do you know how many of those one hundred and forty six texts I can still remember? Only one! Only Proverbs 3:5-6 stayed with me from that time in my walk with God! What about the others? No matter how hard I studied I could not remember them. Why? Because I tried to learn them in my own intelligence.

Since then I can assure you that my heavenly Dad enabled me to memorize many more than those one hundred and forty six texts. This happened through the Holy Spirit revealing them to me HIMSELF during my Bible study time with Him or in cases where I had to speak to people, or pray for somebody, and a specific text suddenly came alive and got stuck in my memory due to the fact that I sought direction from the Word for that specific situation. While writing this section, I suddenly realized the irony on myself, which God revealed to me in the precise moment I wrote this paragraph, because of the fact that, of the mentioned one hundred and forty six texts, I could only remember Proverbs 3:5-6. Can you remember what that verse says?

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

What did I do with those texts I studied so hard? I tried to lean them on my own understanding! Since I learned to lean on Him and to trust Him with my whole heart, He has indeed directed my paths to memorize even much more than a hundred and forty six Bible texts – WITHOUT EVEN TRYING! That is how easy it is when you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you.

"What an AWESOME God we serve!"

Friend, we must also keep in mind that we are very privileged to have a full Bible in its present form. The people in Jesus' time could not run to a bookshop to quickly purchase a Bible in order to ascertain what God wanted to tell them. No, they (the apostles and early believers) were only led by the Spirit of God during their meetings. In the same manner we must again start to learn from HIM about HIS KINGDOM.

In confirmation of this fact, I would like to quote a few Bible texts. Please note the words carefully:

"And all thy children shall be taught of (by) the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children." (Isaiah 54:13)

"It is written in the prophets (In Isaiah 54:13), And they shall be all taught of (by) God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of (from) the Father, cometh unto me." (John 6:45)

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:13)

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth (religion and theology), but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

"But the anointing (Holy Spirit) which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." (1 John 2:27)

In the times we are presently living in, there is absolutely no reason anymore to be ignorant about God and His Word. We HAVE TO move OUT OF the comfort zones we fell into over the years, of having to "go to church" every Sunday to listen to the "good message" which we may receive from the PREACHER or the PASTOR, and start to move INTO God's glory. That glory where we stand in a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him, and where He personally wants to talk to us, communicate with us, and give us daily messages for our life. When you start walking in such a personal relationship with God, I can guarantee you that the messages which the preacher or pastor brings every Sunday, suddenly has an UNBELIEVABLE new meaning for you. Why? Because when you walk a daily road of knowledge with God, true spiritual knowledge that will really free you to understand God's message every day, but especially on Sundays! However that will solely be because of the fact that you understand the preacher's message better as a result of your own new personal relationship with the living Lord, Jesus Christ.

But please note, and this I refer to each preacher and/or pastor who may perhaps read this book – that the personal relationship of born again believers with the living God, is going to reveal to them whether their preacher or pastor is busy preaching from the flesh, or truly through revelations by the Spirit of God. Please don't just shoot down their questions which they direct at you with regards to the gospel, questions which they may have as a result of revelations given to them by Holy Spirit, just because you may feel for some unknown reason that they are suddenly a threat to your ministry. No, remember that your commission is to EQUIP the believers! Also remember we are all on the same side, ALL OF US received the same commission to make disciples for Jesus, to win souls for Him, while our eventual goal is the inheritance of God's Kingdom here on earth and the wonderful gift called "eternal life".

If you may still feel that you don't necessarily have to have a personal relationship with God, and you still just want your preacher or pastor to listen to God and then to tell you what he thinks God may want to tell you, I would like to caution you seriously with the following texts from the Bible.

"For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:43)

Is this still the case with you, my friend ?

"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." (Jeremiah 17:5); and

"Therefore let no man glory in men...." (1 Corinthians 3:21)

Dear friend, do you still glory in the fact that you think only your church's preacher or pastor is an anointed man of God? Instead of realizing that God uses MANY different people as just as anointed in His body.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8)

It is interesting to note that this last verse is the EXACT CENTRE of the Bible if you count the paragraphs before and after that verse. I think it is such an important message it should also be the EXACT CENTRE of each of our lives!

And, lastly, but VERY importantly:

"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men." (1 Corinthians 7:23)

Is it still possible to become someone's servant, you ask? Very definitely yes, if we just blindly believe that which every preacher, pastor, spiritual leader or writer tells us as "coming from the Lord" or "thus says the Lord", without our going to the Lord and hearing from the Lord Himself whether it actually is the truth and "coming from" Him!

Therefore, please, don't even take MY word for all this either – GO AND ASK GOD HIMSELF about the truth concerning this!

The Bible itself teaches us this very important principle in Acts 17:10,11:

"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures DAILY, whether those things were so."

Don't miss what these verses teach us! These people at Berea received the word that Paul and Silas brought to them "with all readiness of mind", but still they went to their homes and searched their own scriptures DAILY. Why? To see if those things that Paul and Silas taught them WERE SO. They just didn't blindly believe everything Paul and Silas said. They went back to their own scriptures to check for themselves.

What do we learn from this? That no matter whoever stands before us to teach us something about the word of God, we should always search our own Scriptures daily to ensure that the things that person told us, are so.

My dear friend, wouldn't you also like to know more about Jesus Christ HIMSELF? And don't you think it is better to find out from Jesus Christ HIMSELF who and what He is, instead of learning from other people who He is? Who knows the truth of the gospel better than the Truth Himself? Please remove the shield of "IGNORANCE" from your life and start to read the word of God with new "spiritual eyes" in a true, personal relationship with the living Jesus Christ!

What do I mean with "spiritual eyes", you ask? It is not the two physical eyes in your head, but it is the "eyes of the spirit" which is enlightened by God's love, after being born again and the initiation of a personal relationship with Him, as referred to in Ephesians 1:17-18:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,..."

In our South African legal system there is a well-known saying, namely: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." In the same way that sentence may refer to the Bible, and can I today state unequivocally that: "Ignorance of the Bible is no excuse". Just for a moment I ask myself the question whether that might not be the sentence God will one day use against ME when I appear before Him and tell Him: "But Lord, I do not know what the Bible says, because I always trusted my preacher or pastor to teach me, and he did not teach me everything"? Do you think that argument will stand before the Lord of lords? This paragraph was only my own opinion about the fact that I will not one day be able to excuse myself before God for my ignorance.

But did you know that the Bible also says so? Really? Yes, really. Please turn with me to Romans 1:18-21:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; SO THAT THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

Ouch! Ouch! I can promise you that one day I most definitely do not want to see, or be subject to, God's wrath because I "...held the truth in unrighteousness..." in my relationship with Him, or in my daily living of His gospel! Are YOU willing to face His wrath, dear friend? Jesus Himself said on occasion, in Matthew 22:29:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."

Please do not understand me wrong, by thinking that only communion with God, or intimacy with the living Jesus Christ, can replace the Bible. From this last verse it is very clear that we are ignorant because: (1) we do not know the Scriptures, the written word, (2) NOR the power of God, in other words, that power which I will start to experience when I have an intimate personal relationship with Him. An author once wrote: "Knowledge of the Scriptures and knowledge of God are like two wings. With those two wings the bird flies. With one wing the bird can not fly." I can say nothing but AMEN to that! We MUST therefore ensure that we really get to know the Bible itself, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit AND we have to strive after that wonderful, intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Someone (I believe it was the well-known Smith-Wigglesworth) once used the following very catching, and very true, words:

"Some prefer to read their Bible in Hebrew, some prefer to read their Bible in Greek. I prefer to read my Bible in the Holy Spirit."

In the same way I believe that the Lord wants us ensure that when we have such a personal relationship with Him, we will strive to also have our Bibles revealed in (and by) the Holy Spirit.

I have heard many people, people who had been ardent "churchgoers" for years, and who suddenly had a personal meeting with the living God, just like Paul, say: "The Bible suddenly became alive to me! Bible texts or parables which I had been reading for years, and which I merely saw as beautiful stories, suddenly jumped from the pages of the Bible, and I can clearly see how it became applicable to my everyday life!" THAT dear friend, is the kind of revelation the Holy Spirit gives you when you start to walk the road with Him. No more dead words or letters or dead stories from the past. It really comes alive! It is definitely not without reason that it is called the Living Word of God. It is an absolute reality. That Living Word is Jesus Christ Himself! But note dear friend, it is very definitely coupled to a condition. That condition is a personal meeting with God, and the "switching on" of the Holy Spirit inside you. If you have not done so yet, don't you want to ensure that you are indeed "switched on" like that?

4. God knows and tests our hearts (Back to top)

Because God knows and tests the hearts of each and every one of us, we all know that we will not be able to hide ANYTHING from Him. That is why it is so utterly important for us to be aware of His wonderful presence EVERY moment of EVERY day, in order for us to know that we know that He is within us and around us, when we are awake or when we are asleep. He most definitely does not only want to be busy with us and within us for only one hour on one day of the week (Sabbath).

His presence must be such a part of my everyday existence, that I am even UNCONSCIOUSLY busy with Him. No friend it is not impossible, no matter how busy our day may become! When we enter into a personal relationship with Him, He fills our total being, day in and day out, and He urges us to want to know more of Him, or to communicate with Him more often, while in our cars or when we walk down the street or while we are sitting behind our desks.

Every little thing I say or do, He already knows about and He always tests my TRUE disposition in respect thereof. A friend of mine had this truth revealed to him in a very shocking manner when he told me one day that only now, after he had given his heart to Jesus, did he realize that God had always been in him, even during those times that he became drunk in the bar, or sat dreaming in stripper bars! Most definitely each one of us would have acted differently if Jesus revealed Himself to us in a personal, natural body and told us that from now on He was going to live with us and walk the road with us, step by step. Why will it then be easier not to do the wrong things? Because we will be able to see Jesus! Why then do we act in such a contradictory manner while we have the Holy Spirit (who we cannot see) WITHIN US every day?

Dear friend, what is your disposition today? Are you a TRUE, living child of God who can show the true love of God to EACH person with whom you will get in touch? But before you answer that question, please think very clearly, and remember the words of Proverbs 21:2, which state:

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth (weighs) the hearts."

And also Psalm 44:21:

"Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart."

From these verses there is no doubt that we can't hide ANYTHING from the Lord.

And don't forget the words of Philippians 2:5 which states that:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

Which mind was and is in Him? He loves EVERYBODY and renders forgiveness and righteousness to EVERYONE who believes, as is clearly stated in Romans 3:22:

"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference..."

How much clearer do we want God to spell it out to us in His Word? If our hearts and attitude are not right towards those around us, firstly God knows it immediately and secondly, the mind and attitude of Christ cannot be in us and thirdly, at such a moment we are most definitely not walking in His will. This last verse repeats the fact that God, in His wonderful love, does not differentiate between people. Who are we then to lay claim to the right to differentiate between people, as a result of the fact that they may have a different language, or skin color than us, or because they might have less, or smaller assets, than we have? Someone once wrote as follows:

"Spiritual racism is at work when we judge other churches, movements or people as inferior, or to be feared, because they are not part of our group. This spiritual form of racism is a root cause of many of the present divisions and denominations in the Body of Christ."

I can only say: "Amen!" to that. There is absolutely NOTHING on this earth that makes me or anybody else, better than ANY other person before God, irrespective of his status in the community, the number of his assets or his skin color. With regards to this Jesus' words to his disciples in Mark 10:42-44 hit very hard, namely:

"But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it NOT BE among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all."

By deeming ourselves better than others we do not live and show the love of Jesus Christ and through that we actually lay claim to a perverse "right" to criticize God's creation, thereby effectively letting it seem to Him that we think His creation is not good enough to meet OUR standards!

That line of thinking may have dangerous results for our future well-being!

5. What is the greatest force in the universe? (Back to top)

A preacher once asked the question: "What is the biggest force in the universe?" The Holy Spirit, of course! But despite this fact, so many of us resist Him daily in a way which stands in sharp contrast to the unbelievably easy way in which we invite the enemy (satan) into our lives. Then we are so quick to say we: "...just could not resist..." this or that temptation! That means we knowingly resist the biggest force that exists in the universe on a daily basis without giving it a second thought BUT we do not think we are strong enough to resist satan and the temptations he flings at us. Unbelievable!

Friend the Bible very clearly states that the enemy (satan) has already been conquered and therefore no force to be worried about anymore! James, the brother of Jesus, puts it very clearly in James 4:7-8:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."

Do you see what I see in the last sentence? I must first draw near to God, then He will draw near to me. He is not going to give the first step, no, I must!

The devil just does not want to accept that he has been conquered but, as Peter states in 1 Peter 5: 8-9:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith,..."

It is therefore clear that he has been conquered, and that he will flee from us when we resist him steadfast in faith. But then we must appropriate our authority in Jesus Christ. That is why Paul states very clearly in Romans 8:37:

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

Through Jesus Christ we are not just conquerors over satan and sin, no, we are MORE than conquerors! It is absolutely imperative that we come to this realization dear reader, in order to enable the Holy Spirit to become more and more in and through us, and the temptations of satan and the world, less and less. God expects us to go through a daily process of sanctification, and we can do so by actively standing against satan and his minions, and actively inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives and using Him as the power IN us!

"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification..." (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth..." (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

Lastly, maybe the clearest verse that we must strive after "sanctification" (= holiness), being Hebrews 12:14:

"Follow peace with all men, and HOLINESS, without which no man shall see the Lord..."

What is "sanctification" you ask? I am so glad you asked! Fasten your seatbelts, here goes! Sanctification is to live in such a manner, daily and in my daily contact with people, that it produces the (Jesus) Christ-like attitude in me! It is a way of life of submitting to the reign and rule of the Holy Spirit, because then the Holy Spirit produces characteristics of God Himself in me. Without sanctification nobody will be able to live in intimate closeness with God. We must therefore LIVE sanctification, so that we can live in intimacy with Christ!

Please do not be confused dear reader. We are not going to heaven because we only lived in a certain way (sanctification) but only through His grace without merit, when we choose to receive Him. God's grace is so immense, He does NOT take the condition of my soul (my intellectual dimension), or my way of life, in consideration in order to determine my destination. My eternal destination is determined the moment that I become born again! Sanctification, therefore, is not a way of life that qualifies me for heaven. No, my salvation qualifies me for heaven, but my sanctification brings me closer to Christ during my existence here on earth!

Now comes the whole crux:

If I do NOT live a sanctified life, then I am revealing the "works of the flesh", as referred to in Galatians 5:19, which I will discuss in more detail later on.

If I do not live a sanctified life, how else will the world around me see the fruit of the Spirit revealed, as it is referred to in Galatians 5:22? The only way the world can see God's love, His peace, His joy, His patience and so forth, is THROUGH US! By looking at nature, people may well see God's almighty power, His wonder of creation, but they can not see God's characteristics. Where do they see that? Only in the people who stand in a personal relationship with Him, who reveal it to the world through their daily lives!

In this manner (living a sanctified life) therefore, the world will be filled with God's glory – through US, His born again children, revealing His image, His likeness, His attitude, to the world.

By living a sanctified life therefore, I am able to experience the Lord's rule and reign, His Kingdom, here on earth. I am able to see it, to enter into it, to inherit it! And through this whole process I am striving for the goal, the end of my faith, namely the salvation of my soul as Peter puts it in 1 Peter 1:9:

"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

Surely this means nothing else that that my spirit is saved at the moment of rebirth – that is the beginning of my faith - but the end of my faith is the salvation of my soul (will, intellect and emotions). And this is a lifelong process of living in God's sanctification.

If I live a sanctified life, I can have the privilege to also show the whole world the alternative that is stated in His Word, the alternative which God gives, and wishes to give, to the world! The alternative of love, joy, peace, patience, and so forth...

My dear friend, God's Kingdom already exists here on earth as well. When Jesus says the following in Mark 1:15:

"And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

He means His Kingdom has come close in space and not in time. The "kingdom of the heavens" to which the Bible refers so many times is most definitely not heaven, because if it was how can one say: "the heaven of the heavens"? No, that kingdom refers to His reign in our lives here on earth. The Greek word used in the New Testament, is "basilea", which means "rule" or "reign". The King of all kings very definitely rules and reigns here on earth too. God wants His rule to be visible through OUR LIVES here on earth. Why? Because in that way His Kingdom conquers satan's kingdom here on earth, and totally vanquishes it, as it was already done by Jesus on the cross.

It is NOT only satan who has a kingdom here on earth, as so many people like to think. No God's Kingdom is here as well. You therefore either dwell in the kingdom of darkness, where the ruler is satan, or you dwell in the Kingdom of Light, where God is the King. The only difference is that His earthly Kingdom will one day be fulfilled for us in his heavenly Kingdom, we who already live it here on earth, we who proclaim it, we who tell and show the alternative to the world. Going to heaven after death is the cherry on top for us, his born again children, after having already eaten our cake in His fantastic Kingdom here on earth!

I bless and praise His mighty Name! Halleluyah! Halleluyah! and.... Halleluyah! (By the way: Did you know that: "Halleluyah" is a Hebrew word which means: praise ye all God? "Hallelu" = "praise ye all" and "Yah" = an abbreviation for the Name Yehovah/Yahwe. Interesting hey? Why then are we so shy to use this word? Is it because we are afraid that our traditional church members may think we are too "charismatic"?)

6. What are the people going to think of me? (Back to top)

We who are children of God, do not have to hang our heads for one second before people when we act in faith, and in obedience to God's Word. ON THE CONTRARY!

We are always so scared that people will tell us:

"Don't be so serious about your religion, man!", or:

"Beware that you don't become fanatical about your religion, you may scare some people off!" or:

"I have my Bible, my church and my religion, leave me alone, I know God!", or:

"Please don't talk to me about these things, I get what I need at my church!"

that we rather decide not to talk to our fellow man about these wonderful things of the gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

However when we invite the living Jesus Christ into our lives, the things PEOPLE say or think, do not appear so important anymore, but that which GOD says or thinks, becomes predominant in our thoughts. As Galatians 1:10 puts it very clearly:

"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."

"But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts." (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

You see what most people, who have not yet received the LIVING Christ into their lives do not realize, is that being a child of God is NOT serious at all, because the Holy Spirit makes you rejoice with that which goes on inside of you, and you just cannot stop talking about it! Or are you still ("traditionally") of the opinion that when Jesus walked here on earth, He was a rigid, holy, pious person who never laughed or rejoiced about His Father's wonderful things and the omnipotence about which He testified daily? Don't you think He was actually a man of JOY? Oh you do think He was? Why then dear friend, do we who call ourselves His children have to be different, or act differently? Is it because our church / our Sunday school / our parents / our grandparents / our traditions taught us that way? Please have a look at Chapter 3 again, where I wrote about "hearing about Christ" from someone else. That is secondhand information. That is only hearsay.

Joy? Jesus? The King of kings? The Lord of hosts? The Lord of lords? Emmanuel? Joy? Máy a king, a Lord, laugh, and be joyful? YES, and a thousand times YES! And Jesus was very definitely a man of joy, because God anointed Him as such. Have a look at the words of Hebrews 1:9:

"Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Thus, Jesus was a person of GLADNESS of JOY, (somebody who most certainly laughed out of His stomach, who made jokes, who sometimes ran and jumped like a child on the beach), NOT a person who walked around with a stiff upper lip and who only prayed pious prayers on the street! He was a PEOPLE person, He LIVED FULLY, and to this day He loves you and me endlessly! Why then do we have to act so different? Jesus wants us to be exactly as He was. FULL OF JOY! Oh halleluyah! I praise the Name of the Lord for this wonderful revelation! Don't you think that is much nicer than to walk around the whole day with a face that looks as if it was marinated in lemon sauce? Well, I can assure you, it is DIVINE!

Furthermore, I am just not allowed to stop talking about these wonderful things, because look at what Matthew 10:32-33 says very clearly:

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."

The moment a person tells me that he has got HIS Bible, HIS church and HIS religion and he refuses pointblank to talk about it, I immediately wonder whether he has the living, in-dwelling Christ in him. This is the first thing you realize when you talk to a true, born again child of God – the fact that he does not talk about his church, Bible or RELIGION anymore, but firstly about his personal relationship with the living Jesus Christ. This relationship such child of God then adds value to daily by taking in God's Word from the Bible and thereby growing spiritually. Please take specific notice: "religion" is NOT God, and religion does NOT guarantee a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Such a personal relationship can only evolve from being born again, which aspect I will discuss a little later on.

A well-known and much loved Afrikaans speaker, Louis Malherbe, said as follows in one of his well-known seminaries held in South Africa:

"In the four hundred parsonages of our church (Dutch Reformed) in which I slept, two, three hundred of them were honest enough to say: "it is a trap". They become so busy with the things of the Lord, that the Lord of the things stands in the back row. What are the things of the Lord? That's religion. The Lord of the things? That's Jesus!... Religion became important to us and religion is dangerous. Religion, as being the things of the Lord, at the cost of the Lord of the things! May I repeat this before you misunderstand me? The things of the Lord at the cost of the Lord of the things, are dangerous!"

A person who becomes aggressive when he is asked to talk about Jesus, or who deems his "religion" as a private matter, or who refuses to discuss it in any way, most probably has not yet experienced the wonder of Jesus' personal in-dwelling. He fell into that "trap" which Louis Malherbe wrote about. He is still busy with the "things of the Lord" and not with "the Lord of the things"!

To date of writing this book, I have still to meet a person who, after being born again, could keep the wonder of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit to him or herself as a "private matter". No, Holy Spirit URGES you to celebrate, to talk, indeed to shout it from the rooftops! Let's quickly look at Matthew 10:26-27 again, about this specific matter:

"Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops."

But then Jesus comes and gives us a warning in the further verses, namely Matthew 10:32-33, where He says the following:

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, (in other words, who tálks about Him, who rejoices over Him – no matter under which circumstances) him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, (in other words, anyone who is afraid to, or refuses, to talk about Jesus before other people, or who sees his religion as a "private matter", or something which is only talked about on a Sunday at church) him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."

Ouch! What an eternal, terrifying thought! Friend, how do you experience this aspect at present? Do you also rejoice over Christ – the living, in-dwelling Jesus Christ – or is your "religion" also still only a "private matter" to you to this very day? And tell me, do you get all this that you have read so far, and which you will read further on, if you have not closed this book by this time – at your church sir, madam? Does your church teach you about a living, intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ? If so, I praise the Lord! If not, I ask you again: Don't you want to find out from God Himself what He wants to tell you about all these things I have written? Please, I repeat, do NOT take my word (or that of the preacher) for it all – ask God Himself!

The living Holy Spirit within us, whose job it is to lead us into all truth, gives us a boldness and a fearlessness to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is clearly stated in Acts 4:31:

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."

And also in Philippians 1:14:

"And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

It is clear to me that when I start to walk in God's ways, and I want to get myself blameless before Him, as it is referred to in Philippians 2:15:

"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world..."

then I just CANNOT stand around anymore, and just look and listen to what other people do around me. No, I want to – and I MUST – get out there myself, and testify, and do what the Word says I must do. Without any doubt I will be able to do it with an indescribable boldness and fearlessness!

When I see other people busy destroying their lives, in any manner whatsoever, God has given me the ability to love them and lead them to Him in His wisdom. I do not have to try to win their favor, but I must act towards them as a servant of Christ. And what does it mean to be a servant of Christ? I must express love and humility to every person with whom I may come into contact on a daily basis, and minister to them in love. And how should I show that love? In the same humble way as was shown by Jesus. He died on the cross for all OUR sins, giving us victory. Halleluyah!

May I qualify this humility shown by Jesus just a little bit more? How humble was He really? Well, only hours before He was caught He went on His knees and washed the feet of all twelve His disciples. But that is not the crux of His humility, no. The true humility shown by Jesus lies in the fact that between those twenty four dirty, stinking feet, were the two feet of Judas Iscariot, who would betray Him only a few hours later! Jesus was so humble that even under those circumstances, knowing that Judas was going to betray Him He still washed Judas's feet. That my dear friend is true humility!

Should we find ourselves in similar circumstances, what will be our reaction? Most probably we'll say: "Listen, it is already a big enough sacrifice to wash all these stinking feet, but I refuse to wash Judas's feet, because remember, he's going to betray me very soon! I will not wash my traitor's feet!" Is that the way in which we might react? I think so. But not Jesus. He shows love, humility, mercy and compassion, even in moments of His greatest need and hurt!

And He expects us to do exactly the same, if we look at the words of John 20:21:

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."

"What an AWESOME God we serve!"

7. What is love ? (Back to top)

I think it is very clear that this is not just a normal "puppy love", or the type of platonic love which we want to give to each other, or think we have to give to each other. NO! This LOVE is predominant, comprehensive and perfect – and does not encompass any evil.

Let us all make 1 Corinthians 13 a part of our daily lives, especially where verses 4-8 puts it as follows:

"Charity (love) suffereth long

(in other words, is patient – even if I have to stand in long queues with people who may irritate me)

and is kind

(that old adage of: "a smile costs nothing");

Charity (love) envieth not

(I won't envy my colleague or neighbor who may have a bigger car, or nicer house, than I have);

Charity (love) vaunteth not itself

(because God's love in you urges you to talk about yourself less and less, to become humble, and to do more and more for others),

is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own

(but only the interest of other people),

is not easily provoked

(by or through set-backs in life, which we mistakenly want to blame God for, or by people who have hurt us in one way or another. This is called blame-shifting.),

thinketh no evil

(in other words, true love forgives AND FORGIVES),

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity (love)

(God's love, which lives within each one of us, and which only waits to be set on fire by each one of us)

NEVER faileth..."

This only serves to confirm the words: "God is Love", which we see in so many churches. He IS love! He does not GIVE love like we humans do, no, because He IS Love! His whole being is ONLY LOVE! With Him and in Him there is no, and neither can there be any hate, rage, envy, jealousy or aggression. And such is the love He wishes us to show to each other. I cannot, and WILL not, if I have the true love of Jesus Christ in me, harm or injure any other people. Either through politics, churches, religion, organizations, or in any other way whatsoever. I must really ask myself the question: "Am I a walking testimony for Jesus, and can people see Him in me, in my daily walk, and in my church, in the community or in my attitude towards different race groups or different cultures?"

Be not deceived, if I am NOT, then I will HAVE to go on my knees again and ask Jesus to teach me about His true love and forgiveness, which we will talk about later. Dear reader, the love of Jesus impels me to love EVERY person around me, IRRESPECTIVE of his race, his culture, his background, or his position in the community.

It is very clear in 1 Peter 1:22, where it states:

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:...",

and

"And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity (love) shall cover the multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8)

It is interesting to note that the Bible says we must love one another FERVENTLY. Tell me dear friend, do you even love your husband or your wife so "fervently"? And then I do not mean "fervently" in a passionate sense, but in a Godly sense! But very clearly God says we must love ONE ANOTHER in that way. Funk & Wagnalls defines "fervent" as: "Burning, or very hot". We must therefore have a burning love for one another, just as Jesus has for us.

8. Spirit, soul and body (Back to top)

Another truth I was introduced to since I started walking the road of faith with God, is that we all consist of a spirit, a soul and a body, as it is very clearly stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:23:

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

For many years I was under the false impression that a person only consists of a body and a soul, and that your soul will one day go to heaven (or hell) when you die. It was an absolute revelation to me when I realized we as human beings actually consist of three different facets, of which our SPIRIT is the most important, as it is my SPIRIT that communicates with God's Holy Spirit, nothing else.

"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." (1 Corinthians 2:11)

Each one of us IS a SPIRIT, we HAVE a SOUL (consisting of our emotions, intellect and will) and we LIVE in a BODY. I have spoken to many born again children of God, who confirmed that they were also initially under the impression that we only consisted of a body and soul. But there is a very definite difference between spirit and soul, if we have a look at Hebrews 4:12:

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of (1) soul and (2) spirit, and (3) of the joints and marrow (body), and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Even Mary referred to this difference when she sang her song of praise to God, after the angel visited her in Luke 1:46-47:

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, AND my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."

There can be no doubt whatsoever that we are SPIRIT in the first place. In Genesis 1:27 it is clearly stated that:

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him..."

We all know that God is SPIRIT, because He only became a man (with a human body) for the time Jesus walked here on earth. And besides that, the Bible confirms the same thing in John 4:24, namely:

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

If, therefore, we are created in His own image, we most assuredly are ALSO created as SPIRIT, are we not? Thereafter He breathed the living spirit, the breath of life into our nostrils, as it is stated in Genesis 2:7, namely:

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

The picture is now very clear to me. God created us as SPIRIT, in His own image in Genesis 1:27. Then He made a little dust man (body), into which He breathed His breath of life, His SPIRIT, which led to us becoming a "living soul" in Genesis 2:7. And in that moment all three our dimensions came together as body, soul and spirit.

Our picture, therefore, looks like this:

1. SPIRIT – who we really are

2. SOUL – what we think and how we react (will, intellect and emotions)

3. BODY – what we react with (physically)

Actually very easy, and very logical, is it not?

It is also very clear that these three facets which make man, determine the reason why he was created and why he is on earth. What may that be, you ask? Have you ever asked yourself: "What is the purpose of everything?", or "Why am I here on earth?" Very easy. We are here to fulfil God's almighty plan of creation and His purpose for the earth, as that was already His instruction to man in the book of Genesis.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion..." (Genesis 1:28)

Why did man have to fill the earth? So that the earth could be filled with God's image and likeness! And what is His image? We saw it earlier in this chapter. He created us in His image, and His image is... SPIRIT. Through our lives here on earth we must strive (through living sanctified lives) to have the whole earth filled with, and through, God's Spirit, and God's characteristics. Through the Holy Spirit, which lives in each one of us who have already made a choice for God, and who have been born again. Why does He use US to reach this heavenly purpose? Because we are absolutely special to Him! How special? Well, let's see what the Bible says.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet...:" (Psalm 8:3-6)

In the original Hebrew text it is stated that He has made us "a little lower" than "Elohim". Elohim is one of the Hebrew Names of God Himself, as it was also used in Hebrew in Genesis 1:1. That actually means that He has made us only a little lower, or a little less, than HIMSELF! What a wonderful thought! That means I am not just a little worthless worm in the eyes of God, and only an eternal sinner. NO He crowned me with "glory and honor" Himself.

Have you ever loved somebody so much that you actually "engraved" his or her name in the palms of your hands? Do you have your husband or your wife's name in the palms of your hands? No? Why not? God says He has done so with us!

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands..." (Isaiah 49:16)

What does this refer to? The marks in Jesus' hands where the nails were driven through. Every time Jesus looks at His hands, He sees you and me dear friend!

And did you also know, that God called you, personally, by your own name?

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." (Isaiah 43:1)

How is it possible then, to still think that I am unimportant to God? As one evangelist once put it, God revealed to him that man is actually the main title roll player of the whole Bible. When he said to God that it can't be, because the Bible is about God, about Jesus, about His almighty plan – God replied: "Yes, but on whose behalf did We do all that?" On your and my behalf, dear friend! And what else did He do for us? Jesus came to earth and was crucified, on behalf of man. Did you know He was tortured so badly that He was not even recognizable as a human being?

"As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:...." (Isaiah 52:14)

And He went through all that ON OUR BEHALF! THAT is LOVE, my friend! Therefore there is NO reason on earth to be negative about myself, about who or what I am, or what my purpose is here on earth. God deemed me special enough to call me His son (or daughter)!

"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." (Psalm 2:7)

"And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:18)

Isn't that wonderful? I am quite sure none of you who have children, think that your children are bad, or unimportant, or insignificant? Why then, would our heavenly Father think differently about us as His sons and daughters? Look at the words of Luke 11:13 about this aspect:

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Do we need to have it explained any clearer?

Now it is possible for me with my whole being, in spirit, soul and body to live out my purpose in creation in this wonderful knowledge, namely that God is my Father and that I can live as God wants me to. And through my life to glorify Him, thereby ensuring that His image fills the whole earth. How do I do that?

I ensure that my spirit communicates with God's Spirit through prayer and/or personal conversations on a daily basis, flowing from my personal relationship with Him. When I am baptized in the Holy Spirit, I may also pray to Him in my heavenly language (meaning praying in the perfect will of God), which language is only understood by my spirit and God's Spirit, and which cannot be intercepted by the devil.

I take my soul (will, intellect, emotions) captive, as it is stated in 2 Corinthians 10:5:

"...and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..."

With my body I ensure that my faith flows into good works, and that it does not only stay in words and/or thoughts, in other words, in my soul.

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?... Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (James 2:14 and 17)

Friend, we must use this truth very wisely! And what gives us all the proper understanding thereof? Let us look at Job 32:8:

"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding."

Just as a sake of interest, I want you to take note of the fact that a spirit does not have a size, or color, or age. A baby, therefore, has the same size spirit as any adult person. Some spirits live in white bodies, others in brown bodies, others in black bodies, and others in yellow bodies. That specific spirit (person) did not have a choice in what color body he ended up here on earth.

I praise and worship an Almighty, wonderful God! Man isn't it fun to be a child of God? Don't you also feel this way, my friend?

9. Does my past determine my future? (Back to top)

How do I choose for Christ? So many of us believe that we are definitely Christians because: "I come from a Christian home, you know." Thereby believing that I do not REALLY have to choose for Jesus. Dear friend, sorry to bust your bubble, but that is one of the biggest lies we grew up with in the church. We each MUST make a choice for Jesus somewhere along the line!

Let's use the following old example, which absolutely explains it best: The fact that I was born in a garage, where my grandfather, father and brothers were mechanics, does not automatically make me a mechanic as well. There comes a day when I have to make A CHOICE, A DECISION, to become a mechanic, where-after I must start qualifying myself, by studying the necessary instructions manual/s, by talking to other mechanics, and by learning everything I possibly can about that specific job. You see, it works exactly the same way with Christians. One fine day I have to make a decision to WANT to become a child of God – not just a "Christian"! But then I must cut myself off from my sinful past, I must repent every sin and lay it down, and start to qualify myself (from my study guide – a friend once told me "BIBLE" stands for: "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" – therefore most definitely an instruction manual) to start living life as a true, Spirit filled child of God.

I am of the opinion that the choice for Jesus, that life-changing decision, may have an alternative form as well. I once got caught in a situation where a person, who was born in such a Christian home, and who could not remember such a distinct day of decision making, was confronted with a situation where he suddenly realized that it was ONLY God who could have given him the strength and the guidance to handle that specific situation – a fact which he never realized so emphatically ever before in his life. In previous instances, things just happened with him, and each time he just "took for granted" that it must have been God, or something, who helped or guided him.

According to me, that specific moment of real, physical knowledge of God's intervention in his life is the effective "moment" that he made an actual choice for Jesus, because never before in his life has he ever ascribed anything so directly to God. Before that moment in time he just lived in the "religious reassurance" that God "must be there", or "should be there", but never before in his past could he, or did he, ever point a finger to any specific situation and say: "That day I really knew and felt that God was with me!". You see, that is why I am of the opinion that that day when that person finds himself in such a life-changing situation, and he directly and without any shadow of a doubt immediately ascribes it to Jesus, is the day he made a choice for Jesus, because that is the day he suddenly realized that Jesus wants to have a PERSONAL relationship with him, and that God wants to do something special just for him, and that He actually did, in that situation!

However, it stays a cut and dried case – we MUST make a decision for Jesus! Read how clearly it is stated in John 1:12,13:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

And also in Romans 10:9:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, AND shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

From these texts there can be no doubt that each individual person must make his or her own decision to accept Jesus, to be saved.

Please don't allow any person, any church, any dogma, any tradition or any theology to try and convince you otherwise. If you have not made a choice for Jesus yet, please do so today – do so NOW! It is so easy dear friend, because then you can start living for Jesus with a new zeal and with new, SPIRITUAL eyes, and in a new spiritual life. But please note the one condition, namely: That you always do it ONLY for Jesus Christ and NOT for your church! NOT for your "religion"! Let your personal relationship with Jesus Christ cause a rejoicing inside of you, a way of life which can also be used to the benefit of your specific church and/or congregation. But ONLY to the honor and glory of His exalted Name! Never for our own glory, nor for the glory of man, never for the glory of our church.

Man, it really is a JOY to serve and worship a true, living God!

10. The choice is easy – become born again! (Back to top)

Undoubtedly the best-known Bible verse in this regard, is John 3:3-5, where Jesus said to Nicodemus:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

It is very clear from verse 3 that a person who does not personally CHOOSE to be born again, will not even SEE God's kingdom, meaning that his spirit and the eyes of his spirit will not be turned on to experience or understand God's kingdom during his time here on earth, and, with reference to verse 5, any person who is not born again, will also eventually not ENTER God's kingdom. Please remember that "kingdom" does not refer to "heaven", but to God's "rule", His "reign" here on earth, as explained earlier. In other words, if you are not born again, you will firstly not be able to experience God's rule here on earth and, secondly, you will not be able to enter into His reign. The moment you decide to make the choice to enter into His rule (kingdom), you start to experience the following things, namely: peace, the fruit of the Spirit, a life of spiritual victory over satan and his demons, healing/health, spiritual (and physical) well-being, and so forth...

Being born again is without a doubt a choice each one of us has to make for God! Jesus Christ does not make that decision for us. The moment we make that choice, He tells us, as in 1 Peter 1:23:

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

Titus 3:5 on the other hand, states it very clearly as follows:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration (rebirth), and renewing of the Holy Ghost"

That means, the moment that I choose for Jesus and to be born again, He washes away al my sins and Holy Spirit gives me a new life! The fact of the matter still stays that one fine day I MUST make a choice for Jesus where-after His Spirit comes to live in me. What a wonderful God we serve! He will never force Himself on us. He stays a gentleman at all times and will never force me to make that decision to serve Him, although I do think He sometimes has it burning inside Him to take me and shake me until my teeth rattle, so that I may see the truth and make the choice for Him, and thereafter to press me against His huge, divine chest.

He gave us the freedom to choose – all we have to do, is to take it and make that decision. Still too many of us do not want to do so. Let's try and make it practical: If you and I agree that I will give you my wrist watch, and I take it off my wrist and extend my hand towards you, would you say I have kept my part of the deal? Most definitely. What is needed to finalize the agreement? You must extend your hand to take the watch. The same goes for Jesus and His wonderful gospel. He stands before each one of us with this wonderful gift, and His hand EXTENDED in our direction. All we have to do is to take it!

Have you extended your hand yet, dear friend, to take that gift from Him, thereby finalizing your heavenly "agreement" with Him? But, unfortunately, oftentimes we think (very mistakenly), that we automatically received it through our "religious activities", or through being baptized as a baby and that being born again is just a process through which we went along the way. Or the enemy tries to convince us, through many subtle little lies that it cannot possibly be so easy, alternatively that I do not have a free choice in the matter, and that it is only grace and grace alone, that will get me to heaven. As I said previously about "salvation", it is true that it is only through grace that we will get to heaven but only AFTER having made a choice for Him, were born again, and thereby saved by Him! If I am not born again, I will NOT get to heaven, and THAT is that!

The devil was conquered long ago, and everything he says, is just one huge pack of lies. Look at the way John states it very clearly in John 8:44:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

PRAYER :

My dear friend, if you have not yet made a real decision for Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, don't you want to do it here and now and open your heart to God?

If so, just pray the following prayer softly and sincerely from your heart:

"Heavenly Father, I am sitting before You as a complete sinner. Lord, I hereby confess each sin I have ever committed against or before You. I am sincerely sorry about every sin I committed and which caused me to walk outside Your will for my life. I repent of all these sins Lord, and I now ask You to please forgive me for each and every one. Wash me clean with Your blood Lord, from all sin.

Thank you Father, that I know that You forgive me now, and that Your Son's blood on the cross, washes me whiter than snow. I accept Your forgiveness with gratitude Lord, and I undertake from now onwards to live my life according to Your will. Therefore I ask You to lead me through Your Holy Spirit and I hereby invite the Holy Spirit to come and live and work inside of me, only to Your honor and glory Lord Jesus. I also plead the protection of the blood of Jesus Christ over my life from now onward. Thank You Lord Jesus for Your love. Amen."

If you just prayed this simple little prayer SINCERELY from your heart, even if you came from a "Christian home" (but never made a choice for Jesus Christ), or even if you served on a church board for many, many years (without making a choice for Jesus), but deep inside yourself you always thought there "must be something more" to faith, you may now put away all your doubts. After having prayed this simple little prayer, you are now a true, new, BORN AGAIN child of God, with the greatest power in the universe, namely the Holy Spirit, tuned in and active within you! It IS as easy as that! DON'T let anybody or anything convince you otherwise, or even try to convince you otherwise! Congratulations! Write down this date somewhere so that, every time someone asks you when you gave your heart to the Lord, you will be able to refer to this day/date. Also take specific note of the fact that you have just caused thousands of angels in heaven to rejoice over you!

Should somebody try to tell you that it cannot possibly be this easy to receive the fullness of Jesus Christ and His wonderful gospel, please refer them to the words of Luke 10:21, namely:

"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight."

You see, it was God's intention that even the smallest child among us may understand His gospel and may take it for himself. It is very definitely something which we can believe blindly, like little children, and something which we can just claim for ourselves. It is very clearly defined in Hebrews 11:1 as follows:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

The proof of "things not seen" becomes very clear when we get involved in a personal relationship with our Father in heaven (Our Heavenly "Dad"). Consider the words of 1 Corinthians 1:18,19:

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Our Father wants EACH OF US to have a personal Damascus experience with Him, just like Saul, the "perfect" man of the church, with all his human and religious wisdom, who met the Lord Jesus personally for the first time in his life on the road to Damascus and became the apostle Paul who fervently spread the gospel (in direct contrast to what he and his own church had been teaching for years). For us not necessarily in the same, physical, sight-removing manner that Paul experienced, but indeed in all of our spiritual lives, at an identifiable cut-off point where the old person is buried and the new person rises in Christ and powerfully steps forward in the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5: 17 puts it in no uncertain terms;

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Friend, can you at this moment EARNESTLY declare that you are indeed such a new creation? When replying to this question, do keep in mind that God Himself is present IN you at this very moment. He intimately knows each and every one of your real thoughts and attitudes. You can lie to me or fool me, but Him - NEVER!

Also keep in mind that one cannot be partly born again. One is either fully born again, or not born again at all. There are no half measures here, as is the case with a pregnant woman. She is either pregnant or not – PERIOD! There is no in-between.

As one pastor once put it, we have to remember that being born again guarantees us eternal life, but eternal life remains a GIFT OF GRACE from God, something that we ourselves can under no circumstances deserve.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Certain things happen to every person who is born again:

The SPIRIT is born again. NOTHING happens to one's soul or body at this stage. However, the body now becomes God's temple, His dwelling place inside the born again person. I personally strive towards the salvation of my soul during the process of living a sanctified live.

As Peter puts it in 1 Peter 1: 9, and as I discussed it earlier, we have to strive towards:

"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

Saving my soul (remember, my SPIRIT has already been saved, the King and His kingdom already dwells therein) is therefore the final aim of my faith, an aim that I will not reach before I enter heaven one day. It is a life-long process of growth in sanctification.

James also mentions this saving of our souls in James 1:21:

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."

Please remember my dear friend, the condition of your SOUL does not determine whether you are saved, but the condition of your SPIRIT does! Why do I then have to toil to save my soul? So that I can be more effective in working for God's kingdom HERE ON EARTH! Why do I say that I personally have to work towards saving my soul? Philippians 2: 12- 13 determines:

"...work out your OWN salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh IN YOU both TO WILL and to do of his good pleasure."

God Himself stirs up the will in me to save my soul, so that I can work "...his good pleasure..." in other words, as said before, so that I can be more effective in His kingdom here on earth! Man, we serve a WONDERFUL God!

We now serve a new King in a different kingdom. See how clearly this is explained in Colossians 1:13:

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son..."

Once again there is no half-measures. You are either in the kingdom and under the reign of darkness, or in the kingdom and under the reign of the Light, Jesus Christ! Which kingdom do you inhabit, friend?

We become partakers of the divine nature, as stated in 2 Peter 1:4:

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

We enter INTO Him. Colossians 3:3 clearly states:

"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

There is a break in the power of the sinful nature, although we can never be completely rid of that during our life on earth. With regard to this we look at Paul's words in Romans 7:19-23:

"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,..."

So when you sin after having been reborn and while really trying to walk with God and attempting to lay down what the Bible tells you to lay down, I can assure you that it is not you (the spiritual person with the divine nature) who sins, but indeed that sinful nature IN you. In other words, this means that your spirit man is perfect in Christ, while your body and soul wars against your spirit man, and they (your body and soul) still sin. See what Romans 6:11 has to say about this:

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin (sinful nature), but alive unto God (divine nature) through Jesus Christ our Lord."

It remains our choice. But beware! In no way can we in reaction to this, now argue that as we cannot get rid of our sinful nature, carrying on sinning would therefore make no difference. NO! The point is, the more I fill myself with the divine nature, the more I become serious about the Bible and the more I lay down the old sinful ways that the Bible warns me against, the less the sinful nature in me will surface. The eternal battle between the sinful nature and the divine nature inside me will become less intense. The opposite of this scenario is also true. As I have just stated, the choice remains mine!

The faithful person now gets authority directly from the Lord. Which authority? Outstanding, HIGHER AUTHORITY! Here we can take a look at the words of Luke 10:19:

"Behold, I give unto you power (the Greek word used here literally means 'higher authority') to tread on serpents (a Biblical image of satan) and scorpions (an image of demons), and over all the power of the enemy: and NOTHING shall by any means hurt you."

The "higher authority" on which we act, and from now on MAY act, is the right to take action, derived from the higher authority of God Himself. Halleluyah, I praise the Name of the Lord!

I conclude this chapter with the following words of one pastor: "In other words: being born again determines your destination while the process of sanctification exists for man's mortal existence. Our aim is not merely to be born again and go to heaven! That is only part of the deal! God's purpose for you on earth is to radiate the image of Jesus Christ from within yourself."

I repeat: "What an AWESOME, what a MIGHTY God we serve!"

11. The prodigal son (Back to top)

I do not doubt for one minute that each person has to decide for himself on a specific day in his life to "return to" God. The best example of the fact that God is waiting for each of us to "return to" Him, is found in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-24.

Let us look at a few verses to confirm this.

"And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him."

Somewhere along the line each one of us end up in similar swine pod-circumstances, whether due to marital problems, problems at my work place, alcohol abuse, drug addiction or whichever other horrible situation in my life.

"And when he came to himself, he said... I will arise and go to my father..."

The prodigal son came to his senses and HE personally made the decision to return to his father. As I've often repeated, God does NOT make this decision on our behalf.

"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

This means the father stood waiting for him although he did not know whether his son would ever return to him. And look again - What did the father do? He ran to the son! Similarly, God stands waiting for us. When He does see us walking back, albeit very hesitantly, after having made the choice, our Heavenly Father runs towards us, embraces us with His wonderful love and warmly kisses us.

"And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:.."

The moment we admit our guilt before God, He forgives us unconditionally and He orders His angels to prepare the best feast in heaven for us! The ring that the father orders for his returned son signifies the seal of his authority. God wants each of His children to be a seal of His authority here on earth. We were created in His image and therefore have to imprint His seal on everyone that we have contact with. Why? In this way His image, His glory, will fill the earth as explained earlier in the book.

Friend, and all of this becomes our personal heritage if we only want to choose God! Isn't that wonderful? Why are you still waiting if you have not made the choice yet? Leave those swine pods behind!

12. It's so easy- simply accept it! (Back to top)

I was a member of a church council in a specific church denomination for many years but I always felt that there had to be "something more" in my spiritual life. After I was born again and gave my heart to the living Lord God, Jesus Christ, my previously "reformed" skepticism about the actual simplicity of being reborn was replaced by an ACCEPTANCE of God and the wonderful aspects of His gospel in the spirit and in faith. I just had to literally, physically and spiritually CLAIM it for myself.

We tend to say to the Lord: "Lord, show us, and then we will believe", while the Lord actually says: "No! Believe, then I'll show you!"

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Initially I could not understand why I could so easily accept these spiritual matters, until the Holy Spirit led me to the words of 1 Corinthians 2:14,15 which completely clarified the issue for me, namely:

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are SPIRITUALLY discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."

Only at that specific moment did I realize that I did not reason logically or mentally about these wonderful, supernatural matters of God anymore, but that I had simply accepted them in and with, my spirit. Dear reader, please take note very clearly - As long as we try to understand God and His almighty power mentally, logically, theologically or dogmatically, all these matters will remain a mystery until we reach that point after being reborn when we simply accept everything IN THE SPIRIT. Only then will everything become clear to us.

Personally, the words of Matthew 18:8,9 where Jesus told the disciples:

"Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."

only made sense to me when I realized they also applied to my mind, logic and reason. I had to "cast away" and "pluck out (get rid of)" these things before I could accept and experience the things of LIFE and the Spirit fully. See how clearly Paul explains it in 1 Corinthians 1:18,19:

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Also in 1 Corinthians 2: 10:

"But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

Dear friend, it really is that simple! All we have to do is to accept God and His ways in the spirit, because our human logic and wisdom means nothing when we are involved with Him and His wonderful ways.

Praise the Name of the Lord! Hallelujah!

13. Being justified by faith remains the crux of the matter (Back to top)

It is EXTREMELY important that we also come to fully understand the meaning of being JUSTIFIED by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. I feel that justification by God opens the door to ALL matters regarding the true, living gospel. Remember the following little "word play" while reading this chapter: "justified" means "just (as) if I'd (not sinned)".

I have repeated the following true story many times over, as it really explains the heart of being justified: It is told there was a certain boys' school where sandwiches kept on disappearing from suitcases over an extended period of time. One day it was decided unanimously by the pupils in the hall that the next sandwich thief to be caught would receive six blows with a cane on his bare bottom. This was regarded as a new law of the school. For a few days all went well and no sandwiches disappeared.

Then a final year student caught a junior boy red- handed. The entire school excitedly gathered in the hall to witness the sentence being executed. The teacher appointed to wield the cane bent it threateningly to lend drama to the scene. Then the principal asked the young pupil why he had stolen the sandwiches, fully knowing and understanding the repercussions of his actions.

The little boy tearfully explained that he no longer had a father, and that his mother had to work day and night, even as a prostitute, to make ends meet. There were three more siblings at home and he had to help feed them, and that was why he stole the sandwiches. Suddenly everyone in the hall felt sorry for the boy and someone asked if he couldn't be excused this once.

The principal insisted that laws were laws and the young man had to be punished for breaking the law. Then someone asked if a substitute couldn't take the punishment instead of the small boy, who looked even smaller compared to the muscular teacher holding the cane. The principal accepted this proposal, seeing that it would not really change the school's new "sandwich law". However, he insisted that the one taking the beating on his behalf had to ask the junior whether he could do so.

The final year student who initially caught the culprit then stepped forward of his own accord, asked the junior if he could take the beating on his behalf, received a tearful nod, and bent down in front of the cane bearer, for all the hall to see. When the last blow fell, the younger boy threw his arms around the final year student and both left the stage in tears. The junior boy in this story was definitely GUILTY, but effectively ACQUITTED!

Exactly the same principle applies to each and every one of us - and our senior student, Jesus Christ. We were all guilty (Romans 3:23)... but were all acquitted because Christ took the blows in our place!

Colossians 2:14 puts it very clearly with these words:

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"

Because of the salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ, we no longer live under the laws of Moses, BUT under the NEW law that Jesus taught us, namely THE LAW OF LOVE! Please put aside your old ideas, dogmas and theologies that you grew up with for a few moments, and read the following texts.

In the Old Testament already, the prophet Jeremiah referred to this salvation in Jeremiah 31: 31- 34:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers... which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

These words are repeated in the New Testament in Hebrews 8:8-11, while verse 13 concludes with the following words:

"In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."

If you should think that I am suggesting that we may willfully continue sinning, as we are no longer under the laws of Moses, I would like to make myself very clear:- NO! The Bible is also very clear about this, as with all other matters. Galatians 5:13-14 states very clearly where Paul writes to that congregation and to us:

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use NOT liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

And let's look at 1 Peter 2: 16, where Peter also warns:

"As free, and NOT using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."

Clearly there is no argument that allows us the liberty of doing exactly as we please. There is a very definite responsibility on our side. Also keep in mind the words of Acts 13:38- 39:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him (Jesus) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

In Galatians 2:15-16 Paul tells THE JEWS (ethnic, born of the flesh Jews) in Galatia:

"We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is NOT justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we (the Jews) have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Thus it is very clear that Paul says that the true, born of the flesh JEWS can also only be justified in one way, namely by believing in Jesus Christ instead of observing the old laws, which old laws could NOT justify anyone. Is there any other way in which to interpret the last few words of this text? Is it indeed even necessary to try and do so? Definitely not! Paul also sends a letter to the congregation in Ephesus, a congregation this time, of non-Jews, or Gentiles. As the rest of us in the world, who are not true, born of the flesh, ethnic Jews are regarded as "Gentiles" by the Jews, these next Bible texts effectively refer to ALL of the rest us. He clearly states in Ephesians 2:11-12:

"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh (Jews) made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:..."

It is therefore very obvious that the covenants that the Jews were bound to during the times the Bible refers to BEFORE Jesus came were NOT applied or even applicable to ANY of the Gentiles at all, therefore also not to us. But what about the Jews and ourselves AFTER the coming and the death of Jesus Christ?

Ephesians 2:13-14 explains:

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off (Gentiles in the rest of the world) are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;"

Then follows verse 15, probably stating it clearer than any other verse in the Bible:

"Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace..."

According to the dictionary "abolish" also means: "To do away with; put an end to; annul; destroy..." Surely we cannot expect a clearer explanation for the fact that the old laws DO NOT APPLY TO ANY OF US as a LAW anymore? What does apply then? The new, personal relationship I have with my Heavenly Father, which relationship and the love it deposits in me causes me not to WANT to do the wrong things anymore. I do not have to be caged in by any law to FORCE me to do the right things, or to keep me from doing the wrong things. No, I WANT TO do the right things – ALL His commandments - to keep my Father happy, and I DO NOT WANT TO do the wrong things that may cause Him hurt.

To be able to do that I do not need a law to scare me into doing the right things or scare me away from the wrong things. All I need is the fullness of His love! A very good example to be used here to explain this, is a marriage relationship. Is it the legal document that you signed on your wedding day that keeps you bound to your husband or wife? Or is it the ring on your finger that keeps you faithful to him or her? No, it is not! What is it then that keeps us faithful to each other? Of course! The LOVE we have for each other. Exactly the same thing applies to us and our Heavenly Father. It is not the old laws in the Bible that keeps us faithful to Him it is the LOVE we have for Him and He for us, that makes our relationship work.

Is it still not clear to you? Then take a look at Romans 8:1-2:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

As I explained earlier, an interesting shift of emphasis now happens inside us that causes those of us who harbor the law of the Spirit, THE LAW OF LOVE inside ourselves, to WILLINGLY uphold the ENTIRE law of God, not out of fear, but solely through the Spirit and the love we now have for Him.

You might think that this is very contradictory to my explanation above that we are no longer under the old law in fact that we never WERE under the law, when I state that we can now keep the whole law... This issue is very simple, dear friend, it is merely a paradigm shift in our own minds – BECAUSE after being reborn, we have IN ourselves the Spirit of God and the LOVE of God and now we do not WANT TO steal, we do not WANT TO murder, we do not WANT TO commit adultery, we WANT TO honor our parents, we do not WANT TO covet, we WANT TO live in righteousness, we WANT TO live a sanctified and holy life etcetera, etcetera.

In other words as a result of the LOVE flowing from inside of us, the love of Christ Jesus, we now WILLINGLY WANT TO keep each and every one of God's laws. It is now not a question of the fear of God and His laws FORCING me to adhere thereto anymore. The LOVE I now feel for Him, URGES me from the inside to WANT TO please Him, and therefore I WILL keep those laws out of the love in my heart. It is thus merely a "renewal of my thoughts", as Ephesians 4:23 very clearly states:

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye PUT ON THE NEW MAN, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

To further confirm this I would like to quote Galatians 5:16-18 as follows:

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall NOT fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

Why are we not under the law then? Because the Holy Spirit leads us in LOVE, love for God and love for our fellow-man, to OBEY the Biblical laws, solely out of LOVE and not out of fear or because it is compulsory or because the church and the preacher warns us that we will be punished if we fail to do so! How can I be so sure of this? Easy, just take a look at the words of Romans 13:8-10:

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

But friends, as I have already said several times, without FAITH and LOVE, these laws are all completely meaningless. Many people's eyes remain closed to the truth because they are being taught in their homes and in their churches that the old laws are actually all-important to them to be justified by today and that they MUST be adhered to as an OBLIGATION, failing which God will be angry at them and will punish them! This is a huge lie and part of the deception of the enemy, as I explained earlier about the religious spirit. How dare I say this? Please read 2 Corinthians 3:7-9 and also verses 12-15 with me:

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones (the old laws), was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory."

"Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart."

My dear friend, is your heart and mind still covered with a veil when you're sitting in church while the Ten Commandments are being read? Is your mind still blinded? Won't you please remove that veil and substitute it with the RADIANCE, the LIFE of the Holy Spirit? May I ask you like Paul does in Galatians 3:2-3:

"This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"

Fortunately the findings of the Bible on this aspect becomes clearer as we proceed, as in Galatians 3:24-26:

"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. But AFTER that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."

Also look at Galatians 5:1-6:

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, (in other words, try to keep the old laws as an obligation) Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. (Remember, there were 613 (Six hundred and thirteen) old laws, making up "the law"!). Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (How much clearer do you want this to be said?) For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."

Without any doubt the new covenant of love is a MUCH better covenant than the old covenant and laws that held in store punishment and judgement only. In my own mind I have not the slightest doubt about the truth thereof, neither do I fear any punishment because I rely completely on the words of Galatians 6:14-15:

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."

The words quoted above are confirmed by Philippians 3:3 and 7-9:

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.... But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."

Without a shadow of a doubt all these verses are very clear that it is all about FAITH and RIGHTEOUSNESS now, and not about the old laws anymore. So let us stop teaching the children of God to keep old laws out of fear and obligation, and start to teach them about being obedient to His Word because we are so thankful for His LOVE! Colossians 2:20-23 also states clearly:

"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh."

If you page back a few verses in your Bible to Colossians 2:8, you come across Paul's warning:

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

Here the Bible clearly states the fact that traditional, religious, human doctrines and philosophies are unable to keep man from his sinful nature. In fact those same traditions and orthodox matters can actually keep man away from Christ Jesus. How tragic but also how true.

We have to be careful to prevent becoming like the nation to which Jesus refers in Matthew 15:8-9:

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (traditions and church laws)."

Church traditions or human commandments may NEVER become more important to us than the living Word of God! Therefore we really have to test our attitude (heart) according to God's measure and NOT according to that of the church, or our own, or our friends' religion. We have to always cling to the truth of God's Word. Justification, specifically as quoted in all the Bible texts above, IS undoubtedly the truth of God's Word. Remember our little "word play" at the beginning of this chapter? The moment Jesus died on the cross I was aquitted even though I have sinned, and His death cleansed me "just (as) if I'd (not sinned)". I stand JUSTIFIED! Hallelujah for a wonderful God!

However we must also remember that justification is something Jesus did for me, it is something I accept. And the moment that I accept that He has justified me, I now WANT TO live in His righteousness and holiness. That is why I ensure that I stop doing the "old" things, because I love Him and I know he wants me to be holy as He is holy.

14. Love in relationships (Back to top)

Would you agree that nowhere else do we find a better example of God's love in action than in personal relationships? Yes? But why is this? Because God, through His unconditional love, desires a personal relationship with each of us. Furthermore, He also wants us to RADIATE His love and to LIVE His love in our own relationships with other people around us.

Here I include relationships between friends, between colleagues, employer-employee relationships, parent-child relationships and obviously, the crown of all relationships in God's eyes: the marriage relationship. No single aspect of our lives, no single relationship, may ever be WITHOUT God's love. Paul states very clearly in 1 Corinthians 16:14:

"Let ALL that you do be done WITH LOVE (of Christ)."

"All" certainly includes ANY type of relationship, don't you agree? No relationship that excludes the love of Jesus Christ in all its glory can EVER succeed. Numerous friendships and marriage relationships have failed due to the fact that either of the parties has followed the Lord fully while the other has stayed glued to the world, the flesh, with all its carnal temptations. In the same manner I think of partnerships and business relationships that failed due to the fact that one partner searched the love and peace of Christ and His Kingdom even in their business, while the other partner wanted no part of it, or merely pretended to be a Christian, while still following the ways of the carnal man. The words of 2 Corinthians 6:14 immediately come to mind:

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

As God's Word clearly states, no relationship can last in the long run UNLESS BOTH parties have God's love in them, and BOTH aspire towards the same love and peace. In other words, both parties have to be true Christians, true children of God, confessing their faith and seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance in that relationship on a daily basis, and actively LIVING and WORKING according to that guidance. As far as the crown of all relationships, marriage, is concerned, the Word is also extremely explicit - without the TRUE Godly love of 1 Corinthians 13, there is NOTHING! Certainly some of the most beautiful verses concerning marriage, we find amongst others in 1 Corinthians 11:3 when Paul writes:

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (Note the order: (1) God, (2) Christ, (3) man, (4) woman.)

Let us also look at the verses of 1 Corinthians 7:1-11, of which I will only quote a few, namely:

"Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.(sexually)"

Ephesians 5:22-33 contains the following lovely verses on this aspect:

"Husbands, love YOUR WIVES, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;...So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself."

According to this verse, someone who loves HIMSELF cannot help but love his wife! In other words friend, if you do not love your wife you actually also do not love yourself. If that is true of you and/or your marriage at this stage in time, don't you want to place this matter before God and ask Him to intervene and teach you to change your thinking, as I wrote earlier?

"For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church... Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."

Longman New Generation Extended Dictionary defines "cherish" as "to care for tenderly". If I then tenderly care for my own body, I have to do the same for my wife. I would also like to quote the following from 1 Peter 3:7 namely:

"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."

Ouch! Let us just re-read that last sentence..."..that your prayers be not hindered." In other words, if I do not honor my wife and do not love her with the same love that Jesus Christ spread over me, my prayers may be hindered! Small wonder that it sometimes feels as though I'm praying against the ceiling. Is it possible that the problem might more often than not in such an instance lie in a problematic or even broken marriage relationship? Please note, I'm not the one suggesting this, the Bible itself states it very clearly.

God may SPECIFICALLY not be listening to me when I pray, BECAUSE I am not at peace with my wife, or I am breaking her down verbally as well as physically, or I am in any other way abusing or attacking her. Sir, if you are abusing your spouse in any way whatsoever, don't blame God if your prayers are not being answered... You only have yourself to blame. Wouldn't you rather change and come in line with God's fantastic will for your life?

Why does God regard the love relationship in marriage as such a vital issue? Firstly, because he has created us as man and wife, as described in Genesis 2:22-24:

"And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

This last verse: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." is repeated almost word for word in Ephesians 5:31. It had in other words been part of God's plan right from the beginning that marriage partners should leave their parental homes and become ONE in body/flesh. Why? Because in the eyes of God, the unification of flesh (intercourse) in a marriage is the ultimate culmination of His love. You see that is the exact moment when two people are married in God's eyes. Why exactly then? Because at the moment of intercourse, when the man tears the woman's hymen, they enter into a blood covenant just like God entered into a blood covenant with us when the hymen of the church (the veil of the temple) was torn at the entering of the new covenant when Jesus died and shed His blood on the cross for us!

If you didn't know, that is exactly how the Old Testament ladies came to be part of God's covenant. How is that? The men were circumcised so they bled in their genitals and the circumcision was their TOKEN or SIGN, yes their proof of being part of God's covenant. The ladies were not circumcised so what proof did they have? WELL: the moment that a circumcised man had sex with a virgin, her hymen tore and she bled in her genitals at the point of his TOKEN of the covenant, thereby also entering into the covenant both with God and her husband!

Therefore it is so heart-rending that people today don't realize the true meaning of a covenant. Even school students have casual sex without realizing that they are entering into a covenant in God's eyes with each and every sexual partner. The moment that a man and woman have sex they are actually "married" in God's eyes, and they commit adultery, because they did not formalize their marriage according to the laws of their country as instructed in Romans 13:1-8. Although in the Old Testament people were married upon having sex and entering into that blood covenant, in the New Testament we have the further instruction in Romans 13 that we are subject to the laws of our country. So if the laws of the country say you are only married after having fulfilled certain conditions, then you must adhere to those conditions before you can say you are married.

I regularly meet people who move in together and then claim that they slept together "in the eyes of the Lord" and that they thereby entered "into a covenant before the Lord" and are therefore married. Yet they haven't obeyed the instructions of Romans 13, so they still are NOT married in terms of BOTH the Old AND the New Testaments.

I recently read an interesting article on the Internet. It was entitled "THE DEVIL HATES SEX". The author was of the opinion that because God created sex as something beautiful, as the actual crown of His marriage between a man and a woman, satan started turning sex into something filthy! He (satan) hopes that by making sex as vulgar as possible, or by covering it in a haze of secrecy and controversy, or by making it into something cheap and perverse, it will cause permanent damage to this part of God's plan for us. This opinion does indeed make sense to me and I fully agree with that author.

The marriage relationship is of such importance to God because He personally wishes to have a "marriage relationship" with us. When one studies the Bible it becomes very clear that He is the Groom and each of us collectively, as His bride. Therefore He wants a personal relationship with us. He does not only wish for an ordinary personal relationship with us, no, as in any marriage, He wants an intimate personal relationship with us. A relationship so intimate, that He wants to pour His spiritual seed (His Word) in us, so that it can reach maturity in each of us and then we will eventually "give birth" to thousands of new spiritual children of God. This all happens SOLELY to honor His Name and to expand His glory and His kingdom here on earth!

In this manner God wants to fulfil His original plan for creation on a spiritual level in each of us as explained in Genesis 1:28:

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, (1) Be fruitful, and (2) multiply, and (3) replenish the earth, and (4) subdue it: and (5) have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.'"

God wants us to also be fruitful in His Spirit, we have to multiply His children in order to fill the earth with His image and His glory, so that His children can subdue and rule the earth (have dominion over it) in all its dimensions, namely the earthly (animals), subterranean (fish) and heavenly (birds) dimensions. Therefore, just as God wants us to fulfil his above-mentioned five instructions in the natural, in the same way he wants us to fulfil the same five instructions in the spiritual. As soon as each of us who forms part of His church (the true, spiritual church of Christ, irrespective of denomination, theology or dogma) through the Spirit give birth to new, Spirit-filled children of God, the earth becomes more and more filled with God's image and His glory. In this manner God's age-old plan is fulfilled by each of us who asks His will, and truly lives according to His will by growing and walking in the Spirit. I have also covered this aspect in the chapter on "Spirit, soul and body".

What a wonderful thought that all of us, as ordinary people are being used by God to fulfil His divine plan! I once heard a lovely anecdote (that I would like to believe is in effect true), namely that God can at any given moment send legions and legions of angels to solve within a millisecond all problems, crime, sadness, suffering, etc. here on earth and to immediately recreate that as the fulfillment of His plan. However He does not do that, to prove to satan that He can perform a divine task with us as fallible human beings!

I praise the Name of the Lord for the privilege of forming part of His plan !

15. My beloved knocks at the door – of my heart (Back to top)

I am so excited about this fact, which I heard for the first time at a Christian men's camp, that I hope you will allow me to embroider on this aspect. One of the most beautiful books on love in the Bible is of course Song of Songs. Do yourself a favor and read it through completely. Historians believe that Solomon wrote this book for his favorite wife, but it is also accepted that it may be read as a love letter from Jesus Christ to us, His BRIDE.

Why can we accept that? Because Solomon in the Old Testament is seen as a "type" of Jesus in the New Testament. Solomon means "peace" in Hebrew, and definitely not by chance. According to the Bible Solomon wrote 1005 songs, of which Song of Songs was the most outstanding, the most exquisite. Just listen to the beautiful manner in which Jesus addresses us, His "beloved" in Song of Songs 5:2-6:

"...it is the voice of my beloved (Jesus) that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled (Can you see in which manner Jesus regards US? Wonderful, is it not?) for my head is filled with dew (because He has been waiting for all of our lives, for us to open the doors of our hearts), and my locks with the drops of the night."

But how do we also answer all too often?

"I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?"

We always have so many excuses when Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts. And what is often the tragic result of this?

"I (eventually stopped making excuses and) opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer."

Why not? Because we did not recognize the opportunity when He visited us, we did not seize the moment! The most beautiful verse in the Bible that goes with this is Revelation 3:20 where Jesus personally says:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

These words come from the seventh letter to the seventh congregation in Revelation. The seventh congregation is Laodicea. In Greek, Laodicea means "the last congregation, the last church" and also "humanism", therefore: the church of the latter days, in other words, US! Are we not living in the time of full-scale humanism? That letter was written collectively to the church of the last days, but most definitely also to each of us individually as a member of that church of today.

Clearly the choice is once again mine. I am the one who has to open the door to my heart, without excuses. I repeat, WITHOUT EXCUSES, if I want the heavenly Bridegroom to share with me in the heavenly feast. A friend made the following lovely and true comment the other day: The door to a person's heart has no handle on the outside, only on the inside. Jesus will therefore never force himself into our hearts or our lives. WE have to grab hold of the handle from the inside and open it FOR HIM. ONLY THEN will He enter. Dear friend, have YOU already turned the handle on the inside of your heart? If you haven't yet, why not? What holds you back? Is it because we as humans have forgotten what REAL love is? Is it because we have lost the ability to enter into a LIFELONG commitment with someone, anyone, even if it were God, a friend, or a marriage partner?

I am so excited about the fact that Jesus is my BELOVED I simply cannot get enough of Him! I cannot spend enough time in prayer with Him, I cannot get enough of reading the Bible, I cannot get enough of listening to gospel music or uplifting sermons, I cannot talk to other people about Him enough! Do I sound crazy? Or do I sound like any person deeply in love, having lost his heart on that ONE, TRUE love of his life? When you met your life partner, were you happy to see him or her only now and then? Were you happy to only now and then talk to him, or about him? Did your thoughts only now and then wander to that person, or was he/she CONSTANTLY on your mind? Oh so you agree that his or her face was permanently etched in your thoughts and that you wanted to spend every possible moment with him or her? Can you see that my personal feelings regarding God and the time I want to spend with Him are exactly the same?

Now my question: if you don't feel like this about Him any more, why not? Please don't tell me that is the way it happens in marriage! Is He not much more than your spouse? Your marriage is but temporary while your commitment to God is PERMANENT, it's ETERNAL! Is it because the devil has brainwashed us subtly into believing that love is not that important, or that love equals sex? Do the words "making love" in books, magazines and films, used to describe sexual intercourse, actually describe REAL LOVE? NO! A thousand times NO! My dear friend, we have to learn again WHAT TRUE LOVE IS! We have to learn again the true meaning of commitment. Where can we learn these things? Only from the most affectionate Bridegroom of all times, Jesus Christ! Wouldn't you also like to fall so deeply in love with Him? And if you do wish to, why don't you show it to EVERYBODY around you, including your family, your colleagues, your pals, your buddies...

I can assure you that being in love with, and to truly love our mighty God and King is absolutely wonderful. The problem is that so many of us have forsaken Jesus, our first love, somewhere along the way. Let us RETURN to our first love, to the one and only Jesus Christ! He has truly arisen from death for you and me, He is really still alive today, He really has sent the Holy Spirit to assist us every moment of the day and He truly simply loves us...Why?

BECAUSE...God IS Love!

Halleluyah!

16. Has Jesus visited you yet? (Back to top)

Do you know whether Jesus has already visited you or knocked at the door of your heart? Did you maybe not realize it was Him? When that knock sounded, did you think this could not possibly be Jesus, because according to your mind, your logic, Jesus certainly could not look like that? You see our mindsets keep Jesus out of our hearts.

Have you ever taken a moment to consider what the great church leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees might have thought or said when Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey, according to Matthew 21:1-11. When the crowds called out in verse 9:

"Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."

I can imagine the way in which some of those church leaders might have gone outside the synagogue to hush the crowds with words like: "Be quiet! Don't you know we're praying for the coming of the Messiah inside?" While at that very moment the Messiah was actually passing them by! During that time of visitation they did not recognize Jesus - because He did not fit the perception (mindset) that they had created in their minds – tragically at their own cost!

Friend, does Jesus perhaps knock at the door of your heart through something as simple as this book? Or do you feel that He would never use something this simple to touch your heart? You might think that the Jesus YOU know would rather implement deeply theological books to try to save people. Please think again, and do ask the Lord to grant you clarity and serenity regarding this aspect. God says very clearly that we should stop making the things of the gospel complex, and that we must become as - and accept it as - little children.

Should you realize that it is indeed the Lord knocking at your heart's door AT THIS VERY MOMENT, won't you pray the prayer in chapter 10 of this book if you have failed to do so earlier? If you have not prayed that prayer but you have indeed read up to here I know that you are searching, that you are thirsty for the one and only true King, Jesus Christ! Pray that prayer, quietly, earnestly and respectfully with all your heart, TRULY repenting of all your sins, and I can in all honesty and love declare that God will on hearing that prayer forgive your sins and make you into a new person in Christ Jesus! Then go and look for someone out there who you know is a true, born again child of God, and share this wonderful experience with that person!

Halleluyah! I praise the Lord with you! Do you know what you have just caused, dear friend? A full-blown party amongst the angels! Imagine that - you are so precious to God and the angels that the seemingly small decision that you have just taken has caused unbridled joy in heaven. Don't you believe me? Then please read Luke 15:10 with me:

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over ONE SINNER that repenteth."

Can you imagine the constant joy amongst angels, taking into consideration how many people are being converted and born again daily all over the world? I think there's constant festivity in heaven. It must be wonderful! God wants each of us to share in the privilege of winning more souls for His kingdom, both the one here on earth and the one in heaven.

Maybe you have realized by this time that this book does not merely refer to lost souls as only being people OUTSIDE the church. Just as I personally served on church councils for years without having had a personal relationship with God, there are still thousands of churchgoers under the impression that their relationship with the Lord is just fine, while they're actually misleading themselves. Even as a member of a church council I was still a lost soul, and so are many others to this day! If you are one of those, PLEASE ensure that you do enter into His kingdom RIGHT NOW before that GREAT DOOR closes permanently!

17. Love and peace brings forth forgiveness (Back to top)

A while ago a couple very dear to me sat at my desk, both with great sorrow on their minds. He, because he had been involved in an adulterous affair for months, and she, loaded with guilt and questions as to why this had happened. Still as these two broken people tearfully sat in front of me, I saw the wonder of God's love shining through them like a bright light!

You see he asked his wife's forgiveness - although his logic and common sense (fired on, of course, by the devil) convinced him that his wife would certainly leave him if she found out – and she, in turn, actually forgave him completely and unconditionally, because she realized that that is exactly what real Godly love expects us to do! She realized the power of God's deliverance the previous evening when, instead of fury, hate and aggression, she experienced God's serenity and love when he told her the truth. This experience was so real that she was able to immediately achieve unconditional forgiveness.

Both parties admitted that there had indeed been a violation of trust that would only heal with time, but both, as children of God, were prepared to be led by the Holy Spirit onto a new way, instead of building on thoughts of revenge, hate and hurt, all the favorite building blocks of satan. It is a pleasure for me to announce that the "time" it took to also physically "mend" the marriage, was a mere week, after which the marriage was perfectly healed, even though it still took them a while, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to also permanently cast off and seal the emotional wounds.

Halleluyah! What a wonderful God we do serve! Is something like this really possible, you ask? Definitely yes! This is but one actual example of living unconditional forgiveness. With a song about God's greatness in my heart I can further testify that this couple grows closer in their love and in faith on a daily basis, to this day (In 2013 already 11 years later). If you doubt the validity of this example, I can provide you with their names and contact numbers as they are more than willing to personally testify about this. I sing praises to the Name of the Lord!

Do we even have to ask what the Bible has to say on this issue? Forgiveness is certainly one of the most important aspects repeatedly touched upon by the Bible. Let us now look at how God forgives us - amongst others in Psalm 103:2,3 and 12:

"Bless the Lord...Who forgiveth ALL thine iniquities...As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

It is general knowledge that, should you get in a plane and start to fly west, you will be able to fly west for a hundred years, without ever reaching the east. Should you turn your plane around and start to fly east, you may fly east for a hundred years, without ever reaching the west. It is not the same as with the North and South poles, which have specific defined points on the earthen globe. The Lord says He removes our transgressions from us as far as the east and the west are removed – not as far as the North and the South are removed. Fantastic, is it not?

In Isaiah 1:18 the Lord says:

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Or in Isaiah 44: 22:

"I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee."

And also in Jeremiah 33: 8, where He says:

"And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon ALL their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me."

It is therefore very clear that God's forgiveness is UNCONDITIONAL and without reservation! He repeatedly says that He never again thinks about our sins. Look at the words of Isaiah 43:25 in this regard:

"I, even I, am he that BLOTTETH OUT thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will NOT remember thy sins."

And Jeremiah 31: 34b:

"...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin NO MORE."

And Hebrews 8: 12:

"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember NO MORE."

Lastly look at Hebrews 10: 17:

"And their sins and iniquities will I remember NO MORE."

I honestly believe dear reader, that if God repeats something four times over, He really means it seriously. He states right there in the Bible, in no uncertain terms, that once we have repented of our sins and asked forgiveness, He grants forgiveness and will think about our sins NO MORE! In other words after being forgiven, it will NOT EVER happen that God will think about our sins and transgressions again. A clear case of forgive AND FORGET indeed! He puts it ALL into the sea of forgetfulness. FANTASTIC!

As humans we very easily say: "But Tiaan, you just don't understand how much he has hurt me!" That does not matter, dear friend! DO YOU UNDERSTAND how much you and I have hurt Jesus during our lifetimes? And He forgave you and me - UNCONDITIONALLY!

How does Jesus expect us to forgive ONE ANOTHER? Let's take a look at what the Bible has to say. Matthew 6:14-15 states the following:

"For if ye forgive men (obviously including your spouse / employer / employee / mother-in–law, et cetera) their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: BUT if ye forgive NOT men their trespasses, NEITHER will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Ouch! And what about the very well-known Matthew 18:21-22?

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother (or my spouse / child / employer / employee / friend / enemy / mother- in- law et cetera) sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

Or Luke 17:3-4:

"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; THOU SHALT FORGIVE HIM."

The last sentence indicates that there is no choice here. "THOU SHALT FORGIVE HIM"! God imposes an OBLIGATION on me to forgive the other person, IRRESPECTIVE of what his transgression against me was!

This truth is repeated in Colossians 3:13-14, which clearly lays down the following:

"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity (love), which is the bond of perfectness."

Once again it is shown very clearly that forgiveness is not a choice. Christ expects us to forgive each other, irrespective of the losses that we may suffer as a result - just as He has forgiven us! How did He forgive us? By dying on the cross! Due to this perfect forgiveness, I also have to put on LOVE, which is the "bond of perfectness", because that true LOVE will urge me to WANT TO forgive like Jesus did.

Am I willing to die on a cross for that person who deeply offended me, who humiliated me in front of others, the employee or colleague who ruined my business, the man who raped my daughter, the drunkard who ruined my child's life in a car accident, and so on and so forth? "No, no, never!" would probably be my first reaction. My own ego would much rather see that person hang on the cross, or be humiliated, or be ruined for what he had done to me! We are always the ones to seek revenge. Yet that is NOT what Jesus expects from us...

"Dearly beloved, avenge NOT yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Romans 12: 19)

The question of how and when God will repay, is not ours for the asking.

What then, does Jesus expect us to do? It is beautifully described in Ephesians 4:32:

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

"But Tiaan, after what he had done to me, it is IMPOSSIBLE to forgive!" Tell me dear friend are you and I greater or more important than God? Furthermore, does the transgression of that person in your life, in any way weigh up to that which you and I have already done to God on a daily basis throughout our lives (no matter how subjective you want to regard this matter)? Does it? If God is willing to forgive you and me for all that we have done to Him, without EVER THINKING ABOUT IT AGAIN, WHO are WE to refuse to forgive our fellow man? Should we refuse to forgive, we are effectively telling God that we regard ourselves greater and more important than Him, and that we don't feel bound by His Biblical instructions! If that is the case I can just as well ask you to throw your Bible in the rubbish bin, for it will have as much meaning in your life in the dustbin as on your bedside table, as long as you refuse to follow its instructions.

Please take note that unlike sanctification, forgiveness is not a process that we can go through. Forgiveness is something that needs to be done on the spur of the moment, and is an act of your will. I cannot forgive someone who hurt or humiliated me, bit by bit, day to day, until I feel I have completed the process of forgiving him or her. It simply does not work like that. If I forgive, I get it over and done with. Why? Firstly because that is how God has forgiven you and me. And secondly because it immediately removes the load of spiritual baggage from my back.

Let us look again at the parable of the forgiving king in Matthew 18:23-35:

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants...one (servant) was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. (The servant then begged for mercy when the king ruled that his belongings had to be sold in order to settle the account.) Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence (a very small amount)"

He then grabbed his fellow servant and threatened him in order to force him to pay him back. The fellow servant begged for mercy (in the same manner that the other servant had just begged his king for mercy), but the man would not give in and sent his colleague to prison till he should pay the debt. Some other servants saw what had happened and related the story to their master.

"Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive NOT every one his brother their trespasses."

How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation! We sin against God at a grand scale - and He unconditionally forgives us. However, should a friend, acquaintance, colleague or my opposition commit even the tiniest transgression against me, I immediately want to take revenge, "out of principle". I don't rest my case until the person admits guilt or I have tasted the satisfaction of knowing "now I really showed him!" or "thát will teach her never to mess with ME again!" According to the above-mentioned parable in Matthew, that kind of attitude is clearly unacceptable to the Lord.

All of us are familiar with the well- known phrase from the Lord's Prayer: "..and forgive us our trespasses AS WE forgive those who trespass against us..." Let's look at this from another angle. "Lord, I have forgiven my debtors 20% today, so please forgive only 20% of my trespasses!" Or: "Lord, I have forgiven my debtors 100% today, please forgive me 100% as well!" It makes a difference to look at it that way, doesn't it? ONCE AGAIN, the decision is ours if it comes to how we want God to forgive us! Completely, or not at all?

Even by thinking about it in a logical manner, humanly spoken, it does not figure that one person can be completely forgiven for a grievous trespass while another cannot be forgiven for just a SMALL misdemeanor. The simple reason lies in the wonder of God's love and mercy. With true devout love in our hearts we can't help but to forgive the person who has transgressed against us.

With forgiveness goes the extremely important aspect of acquittal (or "release", if you want to call it that way) - not the justification or acquittal that we have received from God in Jesus Christ as explained in chapter 13 of this book, though. With this I mean that I have to forgive the person who wronged against me, and at the same time I have to fully acquit or release the person from what he or she had done to me. My personal opinion is that I have to physically utter the words: "Lord, I here and now release John from the fact that he has ruined my business" or "Lord, I acquit my husband from the affair that he had with that woman." The reason for audibly uttering the words is to testify to any evil spirits in the air around me that I choose God's way of LOVE by releasing that person from the transgression against me, and that I am not going to keep it boiling inside of me, so that the devil can feed on that. We have to keep in mind that the evil spirits in the air are unable to read our minds and therefore we have to verbalize our intentions, to show that we are taking a stand for God.

Secondly it is for my own sake that I utter those words. If I HEAR them with my own ears, my logical reasoning and intellect can realize that that which I am doing cannot be accounted for intellectually, but that it has DEFINITE meaning in the spiritual realm. From personal experience I have learnt that there is a certain order of release that has to take place before real inner healing can occur. Firstly I have to release God because have we not all blamed God at some stage for something that happened to us? Surely we all fall short of the mark and need to ask Him for forgiveness. Secondly I have to release the person/s who transgressed against me, as described earlier. According to my own opinion the third step is equally as important, possibly even more so, than the first two. I have to release MYSELF from that which I have done or said under those circumstances, which might have resulted in my experiencing feelings of guilt.

Remember, God says that He forgives us unconditionally and feelings of guilt are not from God, but from the devil himself. By refusing to forgive myself for anything that I have done in the past and thereby choosing to carry those feelings of guilt, I effectively imply that I hold myself in higher regard than I do God, because I don't forgive what He has forgiven (Romans 8:1). Experience has taught me, dear reader, that personal acquittal or release results in unbelievable liberation and inner healing, albeit not always instantaneous. Do not allow any feelings of guilt to keep you from that important step! Those guilt complexes are merely the deceptions and lies with which satan tries to keep control of your life!

Remember, God says He NEVER again thinks about our transgressions if we truly regret them and admit them to Him. If therefore you are suddenly reminded of any situation which had happened in the past, be assured that the memory is caused by satan, NOT by God. Should it then happen that you still experience, after total release, feelings of guilt, revenge or hate, do realize where it comes from, and banish those thoughts and feelings in the Name of Jesus Christ, as is the instruction in 2 Corinthians 10:5!

An author once wrote: "If satan wants to remind you of your past, remind him of his future." (He is going to burn in hell!).

I would also like to remind you of the words of 1 John 1:9 that explain so beautifully:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Seeing as how I could personally achieve the three steps of release since I gave my heart to the Lord, I cannot help but guarantee that forgiveness and release are the most joyful, peaceful experiences when you suddenly realize how sadness, bitterness and pain all lift from your shoulders. The serenity and peace that takes control of you, in all similar situations and towards other people, is indescribable! The words to best describe this would be those in Philippians 4:7:

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

This is indeed a peace that cannot be understood, or experienced with your normal "understanding". With this peace comes the fact that God's yoke is easy and light, as described in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Longman New Generation Extended Dictionary describes "rest" as: "freedom from anything tiring.") Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Our God is indeed an awesome, wondrous God!

18. Peace will conquer! (Back to top)

Friend did you know that love and PEACE will conquer the world? Let us take a closer look at Romans 16:20 where Paul spells it out:

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

Colossians 3:15 also confirms:

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

Therefore it is not war, hate, fury or any similar things that will destroy satan, but PEACE, and with peace comes, of course, LOVE. This is why satan will do anything to make us angry at one another, jealous of each other and resentful of each other because of racial or any other differences. As long as we concentrate on those negative things, the peace that God has in store for us will never materialize, and we will never be able to crush the enemy in our personal lives.

There is a promise in the Bible linked to when we start walking and living in that wonderful peace with everyone around us. Take a look at James 3:18:

"And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."
Therefore there are certain fruits (of righteousness – God's way of doing things) that I sow and WILL reap if I endeavor to make peace at all times. One of the most beautiful promises regarding this aspect we find in Matthew 5:9:

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

Could there be anything more precious and profitable than being a child of God, and being called that?

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it." (1 Peter 3:10-11)

Also in Ephesians 6:13-18 where the armor of God is described, verse 15 says:

"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."

Paul also refers to Isaiah who wrote about it centuries before, in Romans 10:15:

"...as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace..." (Isaiah 52: 7)

It is therefore very obvious from the Bible that PEACE should be our main concern and endeavor, that PEACE should be the most essential part of our armor as Christians. How can I say this, you ask? Because God wants us to go around with joy and happiness, as clearly set out in Isaiah 55:12:

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Also look at God's words in Isaiah 57:19 + 21:

"I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.... There is NO peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

"Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy." (Proverbs 12:20)

God wants to give us peace, because that will cure us from all the failures and sadness of life, but the godless should not expect any peace from God! Isaiah 48:22 also states very distinctly that the godless should not expect God's peace. Why not? The godless lead chaotic, disorderly lives and won't arrange their lives according to God's order. Take a look at what 1 Corinthians 14:33 has to say about that:

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace,..."

"And the very God of PEACE sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

How much clearer than the well-known and age-old words of Isaiah 9:6 could we ever want to hear it:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Jesus is the Prince of all Peace, the ruler, the one who reigns over, and with, PEACE! In Judges 6:24 God's Name in Hebrew is given as JEHOVAH SHALOM, or "The Lord IS peace!" or "God of Peace". Did you also know that even the thoughts that God holds towards us, are thoughts of PEACE? Let us look at Jeremiah 29:11 in this regard:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and NOT of evil, to give you an expected end."

Please take very clear note of this verse. God does NOT sit and think how He can hurt us, or give us sicknesses or diseases, or kill us. He does NOT have thoughts of evil for us. His thoughts for us are thoughts of peace.

"But Tiaan, how do I achieve that peace?" It's so easy dear friend, simply enter into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, let Him lead you on His way, let Him renew your thoughts, let Him teach you about real forgiveness, and you will start experiencing that peace on a daily basis.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

Prince of PEACE! God of PEACE! I praise the Name of Jesus! Hallelujah!

19. I may not pass judgment! (Back to top)

There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that I am not allowed to pass judgment on anyone or condemn anyone, as Luke 6:37 very clearly states:

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"

What are the implications of these guidelines? If I judge or condemn ANYONE, for whatever reason, I bring God's judgment over myself. The last sentence, namely: "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." obviously implies that the opposite is also true, namely: "If you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven." This is only the logical deduction of that particular sentence. It does sound rather terrifying, doesn't it? Have we actually ever thought about it in that way? No Biblical reason whatsoever exists that allows me to judge or condemn any other person, any other Christian Church, or other Christian churchgoers, fellow countrymen or even my enemies.

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44)

Likewise there is NO Biblical reason why I am to be held in higher regard than anyone else created by God. Romans 2:1 clearly states:

"Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things."

Please don't try to excuse yourself with the following self-justification: "I never do the things that he does, because just look at what he does, I am not like THAT!" May I refer you to Luke 18:9-14 in the Bible, where we read about the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector? Can you remember what the Pharisee said?

"...God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (tax collector)"

And what did the tax collector say?

"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner."

And what does Jesus say about these two men?

"I tell you, THIS MAN (tax collector) went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Quick! Could you please repeat your self-justification to me?

Finally I would like to point out Matthew 7:1-2 where we read what Jesus had said about this in the Sermon of the Mount:

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Do we genuinely realize what this requires from us? Or are all these mentioned verses just some more verses that our ministers and pastors present to us on Sundays that we forget at the earliest opportunity? Might it also be that I personally read those same verses from the Bible every so often, but they flee my memory as soon as I close that Book? Friend no, God wants us to be serious about His Word, to go out and live according to its principles!

Therefore we have to DO what we read.

WE...MAY...NOT...PASS...JUDGMENT...!

20. God singles out no-one as a favorite (Back to top)

In God's eyes we are all equal, therefore He clearly declares in three instances in the Bible that He does not single out ANYONE as a favorite - "...neither is there respect of persons with him."

Here I specifically have Ephesians 6:9b in mind:

"...knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him."

Also in Romans 2:11:

"For there is NO respect of persons with God."

Lastly in Colossians 3:25:

"But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is NO respect of persons."

Dear reader surely "no" can only mean "not any"? Neither my skin color, nor my race, nor my status in society, nor my property makes me different from or better than ANY other person on earth in God's eyes. In God's eyes, I am not entitled to more than any other person, regardless of his language, skin color, or position in society! Regrettably those things have all become so important in our human opinion. But why? Because the prince of the world (satan) has taught us in this manner.

Someone once wrote:

"There are two foundations to racism. The first is pride, and pride in one of its most base forms- pride in the flesh. It is judging others by the externals, which is the ultimate form of pride. In its basic form, pride is simply the statement that we feel sufficient within ourselves, that we do not really need God, or anyone else. This creates an obvious barrier between ourselves and others. The second foundation to racism is fear. Insecurity is a result of the Fall and the separation between God and man. The insecure are afraid of those who are different...We must learn to see by the Spirit and judge only by the Spirit..."

Because we have this pride in the flesh and do not see and judge in the Spirit, satan stirs all the things contradictory to those quoted from 1 Corinthians 13. This pride in the "self" and love of the "self" causes hate, not love, and dispute, jealousy and envy instead of peace. In God's eyes these practices are thus unacceptable and unbalanced.

I do not imply that all people who have status and high positions in society cause all these things. I do however state that IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE TRUE LOVE AND PEACE OF JESUS CHRIST in your heart and don't live according to that, your position, status, belongings or even your skin color may eventually become a stumbling block in your way to get into God's wonderful kingdom. Matthew 6:33 is very clear on this subject, namely:

"But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, AND his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

From my own experience I know that we have, unfortunately, swapped those priorities. We firstly seek "all these things" and then hope that the kingdom will be added to us somewhere along the line. Sorry my friend, it simply does not work that way round! But you know what it is actually not all that difficult to go all out for the Lord's Kingdom first.

Once you experience His concern for you and your life, it all becomes worthwhile, no matter what attacks you might be up against. Be assured that the attacks will definitely come, because obviously satan does not want to let you slip from his power. He will launch attacks against your finances, your marriage, your relationships, against anything that might let you forget about the choice you have made for God.

But PRAISE THE LORD that He grants us victory against all onslaughts! No temptations that we cannot handle will come over us, because God will not allow that. Look at the clear way in which Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 10: 13:

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

I sing praises to an almighty God who protects us!

21. We have to walk in unity of spirit. (Back to top)

God's plan for His people and his true church is unity in spirit.

"That there should be NO SCHISM in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another." (1 Corinthians 12: 25)

Only if we are genuinely one in Spirit can we ward off the onslaught of the enemy. This unity is necessary for the merging and growth of God's kingdom here on earth. When I refer to God's kingdom I certainly do not mean an earthly, material kingdom or church meant for only certain people or a certain race. No, it refers to a spiritual, supernatural kingdom, God's REIGN, where love and peace will already rule over everyone who forms part of it, irrespective of which church denomination they belong to. John 17:21 very clearly states as follows:

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

Just look at this! Jesus wants His followers and disciples all to be one. Why? So that the world may believe that God has sent Him. Why doesn't the world want to believe that God sent Jesus? Because His followers have so much division and discord among themselves that the world just shrug their shoulders at the Christians and they don't want to have anything to do with Christ.

Or the well-known words of Romans 12:16:

"Be of the same mind one toward another."

It should therefore literally be as if we ALL share the same brain, the same thoughts - yes, the thoughts of Jesus! Can we actually receive Jesus' thoughts? Let me quote 1 Corinthians 2:16:

"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But WE HAVE the mind of Christ." The "we" referred to here are those who have the Spirit of God inside themselves, in other words, born again children of God.

The assignment cannot possibly be more apparent than in Romans 15:5,6:

"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be LIKEMINDED one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The fact remains however, that all children of God, through the one Spirit, become a single coherent unit, a single body, as explained in 1 Corinthians 12:13:

"For by one Spirit are we ALL baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

and in Ephesians 4:3-6:

"Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. here is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

In no way can an argument then be raised that it is God's will or His plan to exclude certain people from His Spirit or His glory, or from his grace, mercy and compassion! Therefore we can not, and MAY not judge others and decide unilaterally that so-and-so won't be going to heaven, because he or she does not have the same skin color as we do, or for whatever other reason. We may definitely not "play" God, neither in thoughts nor in words or deeds!

It is a given fact that although we may belong to many different churches, or belong to hundreds of different nations and races, we can still walk in unity of spirit, because God's REAL church is every person who has become a born again child of Jesus. Therefore unity in Spirit does not imply that of our own accord we all have to leave our own churches and start new churches! Neither does it imply that we have to become one single, intermingled nation. Most certainly not! God has a purpose for every born again child right there where such a person worships. The only instances for such a child of God to leave his church would be when absolutely no spiritual growth is experienced, or when he is not allowed to remain there on ground of Biblical differences. Only in those instances may a child of God move to a different church, and then only if specifically led to do so through the Holy Spirit, without doing damage to God's kingdom.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE - God, His kingdom and His Word, the Bible, ALWAYS takes priority before any person, human institution, tradition, legend or doctrine. If any church becomes more interested in its own dogma, theology, doctrines or traditions than in what the Bible has to say or what Jesus Christ teaches us through the Holy Spirit, it is an error that can only be rectified in opened hearts by the Holy Spirit. Should you, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit decide to change churches, do remember that you are not allowed to slam that door shut. Many other children of God still remain in the church you are leaving behind, and Christ expects you to still walk in unity of Spirit with them. Continue praying for that church and its people and continue dedicating them to God – daily!

We have to be one in Spirit at all times - even though we do not all worship in the same church or in the same prayer place. The Spirit of God is everywhere where Jesus Christ is worshiped! Halleluyah!

22. God's dividing line is very thin. (Back to top)

I once listened to a sermon dealing with the Day of Judgement. Suddenly, the thought of how thin God's dividing line is going to be on that day hit me right between the eyes. Let us take a look at the words of Matthew 3:12:

"Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his WHEAT into the garner; but he will burn up the CHAFF with unquenchable fire."

Look closely - Where will God's dividing line be drawn? Will it just be drawn between the wheat and the weeds? Will it only be between the believer and the non-believer? Yes, certainly it will be there as well, but the verse I have quoted above clearly explains that He will also determine between the "wheat" and the "chaff". Remember, both wheat and chaff come from the same stem. The chaff was part of the wheat plant as such, therefore part of the growth (spiritual and/or physical) of that wheat grain (or fellow-believer). But look what the Bible says - that very same chaff will be burnt with the "unquenchable fire"! Choose now, do you want to be part of the wheat, or part of the chaff?

Thus dear friend, God's dividing line will be drawn between those who are true God-loving, born again believers and those who pretend to be believers, or who are lukewarm churchgoers, who "think" they are believers, or who just "hope" that they will be found acceptable to God on that day. It will be a line drawn between those true, living, born again children of God, really striving to live within His will on a day to day basis, and the "so-called faithful", those without the true love of God in their hearts, who practice religion with a religious spirit completely void of any Christian LIFE. In other words, those "Christians" who are so busy following the "Christian Faith", they are missing the living Christ!

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:15-17)

"These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. (spiritually)" (Revelation 3:1b)

These are those "Christians" who attend church on Sundays merely because their status or position in society requires it from them. These are people who want other PEOPLE to notice that they are avid churchgoers. They might just capitalize during the next week when those other people will hopefully do business with them, seeing that they set such a good example as "church-going Christians". But all too often these same people pursue the matters of the flesh during the rest of the week, for according to them God dwells in the church building, not in themselves. According to them God can easily be "pacified" again next Sunday in the church \- where they can wear their pious masks! Come on, friend, how many people like that do YOU know? I used to be like that, I know!

What are the "matters of the flesh" that I referred to in the paragraph above? Let's take a look at the clear guidelines of Galatians 5:19-21:

"Now THE WORKS OF THE FLESH are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Friend, read the last sentence again: Those who practice such things WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD! But Tiaan, I am such an avid churchgoer, I attend services twice each Sunday, I read my Bible daily, I pray regularly, and I firmly believe I will go to heaven!

I'm really glad to hear that, BUT are you perhaps guilty of any of the following?

Do you currently have an affair, or have you had one that you have not yet confessed to God? (adultery, fornication)

Do you (only sometimes...) enjoy viewing "light" pornography in magazines on shelves, or on the Internet? (lasciviousness)

Does the Sport Channel, socializing with friends or even your work become more important than spending quality time with God on Sundays, or any other day of the week, for that matter? (idolatry)

Do you have a neighbor or colleague that you really don't get along with? (variance, strife)

Are you perhaps still angry with that person who did you wrong? (wrath)

Do you refuse to talk to your brother or colleague because he belongs to a different political party, OR CHURCH, or because he has views that differ from yours? (strife)

Are you jealous of your neighbor because he is driving yet another new Land Rover Discovery while you still drive a second- hand Toyota Corolla? (envy)

Do you become drunk every Friday and/or Saturday evening with your buddies? (drunkenness, revelry)

Do you hate your employer because he fired you? What about the black taxi driver who drove into you? (hatred)

Do you easily get involved in rowdy arguments at work or with family members? (variance, strife)

What does the Bible tell me in all of these cases? Please take note it's the Bible, not me, dear friends! Those who practice such things WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD! In other words, we will not receive the wonder of God's reign (authority) over our lives here on earth. Even if I went to church until I turned blue. Even if I prayed, even if I read the Bible!

Revelation 21:8 also states very clearly:

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone..."

Sadly, because of this people-pleasing tendency by "Christians", the following expression has started doing the rounds: "Don't do business with a Christian". The so-called "Christian" who only goes to church for the reasons explained earlier, has no problem with moving into "gray areas" in his business. He is quickly willing to make a little dishonest profit, and he will use the excuse "it's only business" when he does an opponent harm. He will defame his competition, he will - "but only now and then, you know" \- verbally abuse his employees, without thinking twice. I could go on and on with this list...

Look at Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 5:9-11:

"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you NOT to keep company, if any man that is called a brother (a believer) be

a fornicator, (I have already said earlier what is classified under this term in today's life) or

covetous, (does money make your world go round?) or

an idolater, (as said before sport, or even work could become idolized) or

a railer, (can you discuss someone without saying even one negative thing about him or her?) or

a drunkard, (how often do you become drunk or tipsy just for kicks with your buddies?) or

an extortioner; (do you always manipulate facts to influence people for your personal gain?)

with such an one no not to eat."

Friend, you might think I'm being rather drastic, but I've been there, I did things in this very same manner. I now daily praise God for opening my spiritual eyes to the wonder of His love, for delivering me from that mock-religion. I praise the Lord for showing me personally the meaning of being "warm" for Him, not "cold" or "lukewarm"! And I praise the Lord daily for loving me so much that He has forgiven me, UNCONDITIONALLY for all those things (including "playing church") that I did in the past!

If you feel that these wrong things are still applicable to your life, why don't you confess it before God this very moment and ask Him to also deliver you from those ways of the flesh and to fill your heart with His love? It is so extremely simple but the satan tries to convince us that it is highly complicated, as I have described earlier.

23. Password: Humility (Back to top)

Our human nature has difficulty with the word: "humility". Why? Because we learn from a very young age to insist on doing things "ourselves"! My personal "self-importance" therefore grows and GROWS as the years go by. The more important I become in my own estimation, the harder it becomes to humble myself (according to God's will) to a level where I can really serve other people, as Jesus Himself gave us the example:

"For even the Son of man came NOT to be ministered unto (served), but to minister (serve)..." (Mark 10:45)

"So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (John 13:12-15)

You won't ever find a greater example of humility than this!

I rely on Philippians 2:3-4 for a very personal admonishment, namely:

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem OTHER better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

Wow, these are powerful words! Let us analyze these words. When I do something because of a selfish motivation, I lack God's love in myself, for "God-ishness" (if I may use such a word) has no time for "selfishness". When I do something out of "vainglory" (conceit) it means that I personally want to get the recognition or glory for something that happens to me or around me. Once again things revolve around ME (selfishness) instead of around God. In that case I'm certainly outside God's will, because He very clearly states in Isaiah 48:11:

"...and I will NOT give my glory unto another."

ALL the glory for anything good in our lives should go to the Lord. It's NOT I who achieved a certain position or a specific degree! Had God not made it possible, or had He not blessed me with a certain degree of intelligence, I would not have been able to achieve that. Therefore ALL the glory is His!

The word "humility" encompasses so much. Do we actually know exactly what it means? It is exactly what Jesus displayed when He lay down His divinity to become a servant. It was the willingness to personally wash the feet of His disciples, despite being their Master and their superior many times over. Not only that, but also that same humility that made Jesus wash Judas Iscariot's feet, despite knowing that that same man would shortly betray Him. Are we REALLY that humble friend? I'm afraid not, unfortunately.

Friend in this regard I do not only refer to the ceremony of washing feet in Jesus' time. I once personally attended a Christian camp where I had the privilege of witnessing a minister wash the feet of the camp parents (husband and wife team), in the presence of all 60 men who attended the camp. I can assure you that there was not a single dry eye at that occasion! What a wonderful display of true humility! I certainly do not imply that we now have to start pulling off shoes and socks and wash the feet of everyone we come across. No! Also through our manner of speaking, our attitude and our inclination can we display humility filled with the love of Jesus. Do we really do things in this manner?

Then, the most important part: do we regard ALL people that we come across as more important than ourselves? Remember Philippians 2:3,4. This does not mean holding someone in higher esteem than oneself because of the larger house, the smarter car, the seniority, the status or the profession of that person. In this instance Jesus refers to really treating all other people that we come across with true love and humility in Christ, and with the love of Jesus regarding them as more important as ourselves. We should not measure someone's worth according to his or her belongings, prestige or achievements. Having that true love and humility will automatically result in placing other people's interests above our own.

Do we really do that?

DO WE REALLY DO THAT?

If not, we should take time to become quiet and ask God to plant these attitudes in us, in order for us to be able to ask His will and actually start LIVING according to it. We have to avoid acting according to what WE THINK is His will, and then trying to manipulate God to fit into OUR framework or thought patterns.

Do take a look at what God said about this even as far back as the Old Testament through the prophet in Isaiah 65:2 and 5:

"I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was NOT good, after their OWN thoughts...Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day." (Without a doubt and very clearly these attitudes are NOT acceptable to God.)

We cannot reason that others like our ministers or pastors or even church organizations should make certain faith choices on our behalf. The use of that excuse is no longer relevant, my friend. We have depended on the advice of our churches and/or ministers and/or pastors for too long. Instead of being told what we should do, we should find out for OURSELVES what GOD wants to tell each of us, PERSONALLY, through His Word. When the day of judgement comes I won't be able to use the excuse of not being correctly informed by my minister or pastor, because Galatians 6:4-5 clearly determines:

"But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden."

I won't be able to hide behind the back of my minister, pastor, father, mother, spouse or my buddies on that day when God calls my name to justify my personal actions during my life. But what a wonderful thought that there will not be any judgement for those of us who chose Jesus Christ, became born again, and have thereby been redeemed!

"There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1)

God expects each of us to search for His COUNTENANCE, not only His footprints, His hands, His past, or things that He "USED TO DO IN THOSE DAYS". Even today He still wants to appear to each of us personally to show us His omnipotence, because, according to Hebrews 13:8:

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever."

The fact that He wants us to search for His countenance formed part of His wonderful plan from the beginning, it still does, and will continue to do so till His return. God does not want to be a figure in a history book, but a very present reality! The beauty of it all lies in the fact that the more we search for His countenance, the closer we get to Him. According to the Psalmist God wants us to "hunger" and "thirst" for His countenance, then He will come closer to us, as clearly stated in James 4:8. However, He will not do so if we fail to live our lives within His will in typical Jesus-like humility. Therefore He also says in Isaiah 57:15b:

"I DWELL in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and HUMBLE spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

Do you want God to also dwell with you on a daily basis? Make sure that you have a contrite heart and a humble spirit!

Thank you, thank you Jesus! What a fantastic heavenly Daddy we have!

24. Watch out for spiritual pride (Back to top)

Another aspect that God has pressed on my heart recently goes hand in hand with the previous chapter on "Humility". This is the issue of spiritual pride, or any other form of pride and haughtiness for that matter. Spiritual pride occurs whenever I regard myself as a child of God and faithful Christian, as "better" than other Christians, FOR WHATEVER REASON. It occurs when I go around telling everybody that I know the gospel better than other people, or that I move on a higher spiritual level than others. Someone once wrote in a popular Afrikaans magazine that we sometimes become so "humble" that we actually become haughty in our (false) humility!

This is a severe danger sign in any believer's life and we have to be ultra-aware to miss that pothole after having walked with God for a period of time. The dividing line between being truly humble in the manner that Jesus wants us to be and false humility in OUR own eyes is very thin. Keep in mind that we can easily be regarded as a "spiritual" pain in the neck in others' (including Jesus') eyes when we are full of our own, false "spirituality" or "spiritual piety". We need to pray daily that Jesus will lead and teach us in His GENUINE humility so that we will always realize and remember that ALL the GLORY for our personal spiritual, or material growth or progress, is due to God ONLY. In the same way should we remind ourselves of the parable of the laborers, as quoted in a previous chapter. This should remind us once again that our personal spiritual growth or progress will in no way lead to our receiving a larger or better reward than they who are, according to us, "spiritually inferior" to ourselves. THAT is pride!

And remember pride is the thing that caused God to cast satan out of heaven.

As you can see, dear friend, satan can use spiritual pride to plant a twisted lie in our minds. By regarding myself as spiritually superior to others, I open my heart to the enemy. Here I think of the "proud and haughty spirit" that I refer to in chapter 37.

Spiritual pride definitely also occurs in many churches and churchgoers when these regard themselves as "spiritually more mature" than other churches or members of churches. It so happened that a person once referred to the matters that I wrote about in my personal testimonial, which were only revealed to me personally by the Lord after my first 36 years on this earth. This person mentioned that these issues were things already revealed to him "years ago" during his catechism classes and that they were things that according to him he has apparently "moved past" long ago and did not really need in his life any longer. But still this person is a member of a church that does not even acknowledge, let alone preach, certain of the things that I personally experience on a daily basis, after my being saved. Once again a case of spiritual pride because this person regards himself as "too spiritually advanced" to even think about these basic matters that I wrote about.

However these issues are real to this day, true things that God share worldwide with millions of Christian including myself, on a daily basis. These matters feed and build us up ANEW each day, it is literally the "daily bread" referred to in the Lord's Prayer that we all know by heart!

Paul states clearly in 1 Corinthians 5:6:

"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."

Through simply believing that I have "finished studying" certain matters of the gospel I then don't make any effort to "purge" the old leaven to ensure that I continue being "new leaven". That person I referred to has learnt all the wonderful things about Jesus in his childhood days, but that is where it ended for him and yet he didn't think so. Please understand me correctly, I do not condemn the person, neither do I imply that he will not go to heaven. By no means! I simply mean that his present attitude prevents him from having an even MORE fulfilled personal relationship with Jesus Christ here on earth on a daily basis.

With Jesus EVERYTHING is new every day, and it ("it" refers to EVERY wonderful part of the gospel and all that goes with it) IS RENEWED again DAILY! Whoa, what are you saying, Tiaan? The Bible was written and completed centuries ago, how can it be renewed every day? Friend, because it is written so clearly in Deuteronomy 8:3:

"...that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that PROCEEDETH out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live."

Take note,"...that proceedeth (present tense) out of the mouth of the Lord.", NOT: "...that proceeded (past tense) from the mouth of the Lord." During His temptation by satan in the desert Jesus repeats these words from Deuteronomy personally in Matthew 4:4:

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Jesus spoke these words several centuries after Deuteronomy was written, but He confirmed the truth thereof by making this statement. During the time when Deuteronomy was written, people lived by every word "that proceedeth out of the mouth of God", during the time when Jesus lived, people lived by every word "that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" and today still, because of the words of Hebrews 13:8 stating that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and until eternity, we also live by every word "that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Daily!

We MAY not allow this to pass us by and we may not lose this because we think we are "better" or spiritually more advanced than others. The gospel and its truths cannot be completed in "modules", like an academic subject that I write exam about and then leave behind bit by bit. IT IS RENEWED EVERY DAY, BECAUSE IT DAILY PROCEEDS FROM GOD'S MOUTH (His Word).

Solomon warns us in Proverbs 16:2:

"All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. (heart)."

Jesus Christ constantly knows the true attitude behind each of our actions, even if we think we are right and our motives pure. Therefore I have to daily measure myself according to God's view of myself and my spiritual wellbeing, instead of my own, or my friends', or my church's or my minister's or pastor's view thereof.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)

My own spiritual pride may cause someone else who has not yet made a choice for Jesus, or someone who has not yet walked the path that I have, to take offence against MY manner and thereby maybe turning away from God's wonderful path forever. This would most definitely NOT do credit to the "glory and praise of God".

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless." (2 Peter 3:14)

I should therefore do intensive self-examination and ask God if this is what He really expects of me and whether I will be found "...without spot and blameless..." by Him if I regard myself as someone's spiritual superior and actually show it in my words, deeds and attitude. May the Lord lead each of us to stay absolutely humble with only a true Jesus attitude. So that we can sit at Jesus' feet like Mary did so long ago, in order to learn more about the wonderful NEW things of His gospel that He wants to teach us. May we be receptive "like children"- not too "wise" for His gospel, like the Biblical scribes who regarded themselves as perfect and who were therefore un-teachable. We must at all times be FAT = Faithful, Available and Teachable!

Spiritual or ordinary human pride can be as equally detrimental to my relationship with Jesus Christ than any other sin that I might commit, or harbor in me. Do take a look at the words of Proverbs 16:25 as a very direct warning to us:

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, BUT the end thereof are the ways of death. (also spiritual death = being seperated from God)."

Dear believer friend, be on your GUARD against this!

To conclude this chapter I quote Mac Hammond from his book: "MISLED" where he points out all the ways in which satan misleads us. I cannot help but agree with every one of His words:

"Pride is the only reason for discord in the Body of Christ. Pride says: I am right and I want things to be done my way. It has the inclination to elevate itself; it is the most poisonous evil that a Christian has to face. Yes, pride is dangerous. But the "religious" alternative – self-degradation- is just as bad.

The majority of the religious world believes that if you chastise yourself enough by calling yourself a worm and acting as if you hardly deserve to live, you have successfully dealt with pride. The truth is, that type of self-humiliation is actually just another form of pride. Abbé de Saint- Cyran wrote: 'There is no greater pride than to humiliate ourselves beyond limits. Likewise there is sometimes no greater humiliation than attempting great deeds for God.'

God says that you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you. (Romans 8:37) Remember that if satan cannot succeed in promoting pride in you, he will try to get you into the opposite "gutter" across the road- to regard yourself as a lowly worm, squashed by circumstances.

How can you avoid both gutters and step in line with regard to pride? By knowing that pride comes down to self- glorification but that true humility does NOT boil down to self-chastising. Humility is to exalt God through the abilities that He brought about in your life. You should realize that without God you are nothing, and you cannot do anything without Him, but that there is nothing that you cannot do in Christ. You are a conqueror in Jesus. You are a success story waiting to happen."

And the words of Matthew 23:12:

"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased (humiliated); and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

Amen and AMEN!

25. What you sow, you will reap (Back to top)

As a nation of farmers we South Africans know quite a bit about sowing and reaping. Anyone knows that if you sow maize you will reap maize, and if you sow corn, you will reap corn. It is impossible to reap maize if you planted corn, or to reap sunflowers if you planted maize. The Lord also applies this principle very distinctly in the Bible, where Galatians 6:7-8 expresses:

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, THAT shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life."

Therefore, if I sow love, the promise is that I will reap love. If I sow hate, or jealousy, or miserliness, or envy, or dispute, or gossip, or slander, I will without a doubt also reap these matters of the flesh that I sowed. Would I really like to see hate return to me? Or envy? Or slander? Or dispute? Or gossip? Or judgement?

Colossians 3:8-11 distinctly says:

"But now ye also PUT OFF all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all."

My dear friend, these are not merely some more lovely words. This is not just another paragraph in the Bible or in this book that we can let us pass by after having read it. No, these are words that should shake our hearts! If Christ wants us to PUT OFF/lay down/stop the matters mentioned above, we HAVE to do so! Why? Because of the love we have for Him, and the personal relationship we walk in with Him. We should not put in a few feeble attempts to merely change only slightly and fall back at the first pressure from the world, returning to the ways of the world with any silly little excuse. God wants us to take a firm stand FOR Him and against the world! We must declare Him to the world!

"I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have DECLARED thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation." (Psalm 40:11)

"I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may DECLARE all thy works." (Psalm 73:28b)

"And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles." (Matthew 10:18)

"Return to thine own house, and shew (tell) how great things God hath done unto thee." (Luke 8:39)

"Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men (including before your friends), him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God." (Luke 12:8-9)

See? What you sow, you will reap – eternally too!

I praise the Lord, He is so absolutely wonderful and fair!

26. What about the "least amongst us" that the Bible refers to? (Back to top)

Do we actually, genuinely realize the meaning of the warning in the following words of Proverbs 14:31?

"He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor."

Or Proverbs 21:13:

"Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard."

Do we really adhere to what Proverbs 31:8-9 expects of us?

"Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."

I have no doubt that each one of these verses is applicable to each one of us in the world, without taking into consideration anyone's race or skin color. We have to have mercy on the poor and needy around us, as James 2:14-16 explains in no uncertain terms:

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister (no matter their skin color) be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye GIVE THEM NOT those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"

Should you perhaps disagree with me for placing the words "no matter their skin color" in brackets because you personally don't regard people of another race as your "brother and sister", I ask you in love to reveal to me the verse in the Bible which states that the "brother and sister" referred to only include people from one ethnic group.

With the point I made here I most certainly don't suggest that we have to give a small donation to everyone who crosses our path daily to merely silence the "little voice" in our minds. Nowadays the need is so immense that we can easily hand out all our personal belongings without even making a dent in the demand. No, the Lord requests us to be compassionate and be on the lookout for where we can actually make an active difference in the immediate or even long-term circumstances of people who God sends across our way.

With regard to this issue, we should also learn to wait for God's guidance as to how, where and with which means we should assist in a situation that we might come across. We must not immediately "shut down" and chase away such a person in an irritable manner or merely shove money in the person's hand just to get rid of him or her. Do allow me to share in my own words the following anecdote that was sent to me via the Internet. It really explains this truth very accurately:

"Ruth was a poor widow who did not earn much money. One day she received a note in her letterbox: 'Dear Ruth, I'm coming to visit you this afternoon and would like to lunch with you. Regards, Jesus.' Ruth very excitedly took her last coins, put on her tattered coat against the cold, and walked to shop for the meal she would prepare for this important guest. After having bought what she needed, she started walking home. Suddenly a weather-beaten couple appeared and begged her for something to eat, saying that it had been three days since their last meal.

At first Ruth said that she could not help because she had to use the food that she was carrying to prepare a meal for a very important guest. When she started walking away, she felt intense compassion for them, because they were thin and the woman also looked quite ill. She turned around and gave them the food, saying that she would make another plan for her guest. She also took her tattered coat and gave it to the drawn woman. Ruth walked home with a light tread, wondering how she would prepare a meal for her guest.

When Ruth came home, she found another note in her letterbox. It read: 'Dear Ruth, thank you very much for the lovely food and also for the comforting warm coat. Regards, Jesus.'

How do you and I react in similar situations, dear friend? What will be written in the notes that we will receive in our letterboxes one day? Will Jesus say to us the words written in Matthew 25:34-36:

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

Or will He say to us the words of verses 41-46:

"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

It then concludes with:

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

Is there a choice at all, dear friend? We must have compassion for ALL those around us who may have less than we do, and we must help them in the way that the Holy Spirit leads us in our hearts. With LOVE!

27. Are we Jews... or are we Israelites? (Back to top)

Seeing that there are still some people today who argue that we are ALL physical heirs of Abraham, and therefore literally still ethnical Jews from the twelve tribes of Israel, I would like to refer you to a few verses, of which Romans 9:6-18 are some of the most distinct. Verse 24 especially defines:

"...For they are NOT all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham...That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. (Who then are the "children of the promise"?)...even US whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles..."

Firstly, do take note that "Israel" in the Bible definitely refers to the church of Jesus Christ in the spiritual as well. With "church" I certainly don't refer to the church building and/or the specific denomination that you currently belong to. I mean the true spiritual church, the "church of the firstborn", the church of Jesus Christ because that is the only church to actually ever belong to. And you and I, and every other reborn Christian, all make up that "church". On what do I base this, you ask? It is very clearly stated in Hebrews 12:22-23:

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and THE CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN which are written in heaven..."

Without a doubt this is the only TRUE church that anyone of us can ever belong to and that I personally ever want to belong to. "The church of the firstborn WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN...!" Yes! The church of Jesus Christ! Praise Jesus!

However in solving this issue, let us take a look at the three words: Hebrew, Jew and Israel/ite. "Israel" is a word created by God, as opposed to "Jew" and "Hebrew", which are both man-made words. To confirm this I firstly refer to the words of Genesis 10:21:

"...Also to Shem, the father of all the children of EBER..."

The word Hebrew is denoted from Eber and includes all descendants of Eber. That name was chosen by a human. The word "Jew" is also a human word. In Esther 2:5 we find this word mentioned for the first time in the Bible.

"In Shushan the citadel was there a certain JEW whose name was Mordecai..."

After the exile of Israel's tribes the word was used to refer to all descendants of the tribe of Judah. Therefore it is also a human word. But "Israel"...-..."Israel" is a word chosen by God personally! How can I say that? Well, do take a look at Genesis 32:24-32, where we read about the nightlong struggle between Jacob and God. In verse 28 God says:

"And He (God) said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

You will also notice in this narration in the Bible that God touched Jacob's hip joint when He could not gain the victory over him. Jacob's hip became disjointed, resulting in Jacob's (Israel's) permanent limping thereafter. What exactly happened to Jacob here? "Jacob" means one who undermines, a deceiver, a blunderer, one who schemes. Therefore he is an image of the old person of the flesh lurking in each of us before our personal meeting with God. Then God asks Jacob: "What is your name?". In that sentence He actually asked Jacob: "What is your nature?". What, indeed, had been his nature? An underminer, deceiver, blunderer, schemer... My dear friend, what is YOUR name (nature) at this very moment? Are you still a "Jacob", or have you changed to "Israel" yet?

What happens when he struggles with God and gains victory? He becomes "Israel". In other words he becomes a new spiritual person, an "overcomer", a winner, a conqueror, a prince of God! Even in this well-known story from the Old Testament it becomes clear that each of us must have a PERSONAL, face- to face meeting with God so that our natures can also change into God's image. So that we can also become overcomers, winners, conquerors, and princes of God.

But first something has to happen to me personally... "What is that something?" you ask. Something in me must break, like Jacob's hip joint was smitten to cause him to walk "differently". Yes, my heart of stone must "break" before God to enable Him to take it and replace it with a heart of flesh and blood, full of Godly love. Then I have to lay down my old nature and become a new SPIRITUAL person, a SPIRITUAL "Israelite"! Then what happens to me? I too, begin to walk "differently". Why? Because I have become a NEW, different person after that meeting with God, and cannot help but WALK "differently", and LIVE differently.

Have you noticed what verse 31 has to say?

"...The sun rose on him..."

God's light (His sun) went up for this new person – Jacob/Israel. In the same way God's light (His sun – His SON) rises over you and I when we part with the old person of the flesh and start to walk differently after our personal meeting with God. Everyone who has had a personal meeting with God, becomes a SPIRITUAL Israelite. Not in a physical, bodily, literal, ethnic or cultural manner! Christ's coming enabled us to become new creations and to become a spiritual unit, His church, His Israel. Galatians 6:15-16 clearly states:

"For in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, BUT A NEW CREATION. And may as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, AND UPON THE ISRAEL OF GOD!"

This "Israel of God" refers firstly to the physical Israel but it also refers to God's church, His spiritual church of unity, the "church of the firstborn", of Jesus Christ as I wrote earlier. After all He is the cornerstone on which that ONE TRUE church is built. Look at the distinct manner in which Ephesians 2:19-22 expresses this:

"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

Is this "building" merely a physical, brick- and mortar building? Definitely not! The building that is referred to is the spiritual church of Christ, of which He is the head and the chief cornerstone. If we decide to walk with Him we become part of the same "building" spiritually. What a wonderful knowledge! Likewise the heavenly Jerusalem, the huge city of Revelation 21:9-10 also refers to the true spiritual church, and not just to a physical city.

"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."

It is widely known that we, the true church of Jesus Christ, are repeatedly referred to as the Bride of the Lamb in the Bible. In this verse, the angel tells the apostle John that he will show him the bride, in other words the church of the Lamb. What does he then show John? The holy city Jerusalem descending from heaven! It therefore becomes clear that the "city" referred to here actually also refers to the members of the church of Jesus Christ. Matthew 5:14 stipulates:

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."

In this instance, the "church" is a reference to the church of Jesus Christ, to US who walk the road with Him. Therefore no person who has had an ACTUAL personal meeting with God, who is part of that spiritual "city", the spiritual church, can hide his or her light, because God's true church lies ON TOP OF that mountain, it is not hidden somewhere in a ravine! Where and how does your light shine? On top of the mountain, or deeply hidden in a ravine or crevasse to ensure that no-one, especially your friends, will ever notice that you are a child of God?

Do you also go "undercover" as far as your religion is concerned the moment you step out of church on Sundays? Or do you go from there, tackling each day with boldness of faith, authority, dauntlessness and fearlessness, in the way that God expects you to? Romans 4:17-18 refers to the promise to Abraham and clearly stipulates:

"As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations (regardless of their skin color)...who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations (again regardless of their skin color), according to what was spoken, So shall your descendants be."

"By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants AS the stars of the heaven...In your seed ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis 22:16-18)

WOW!!! What a PROMISE! Did you know that astronomers have found that the solar system is still progressively expanding? What was the promise to Abraham? Your descendants will multiply "as the stars"! What then, is happening to Abraham's descendants to this day? They are multiplying daily! Therefore Abraham is PHYSICALLY the natural father of many nations, but even more important, he is also the SPIRITUAL father of ONE spiritual nation, the church of Jesus Christ, growing from ALL the nations on earth. What was the reason for this? The promise made to Abraham. Which promise? The promise of the coming of Christ! This promise was not made to different "seeds", no, only to ONE seed, as stipulated in Galatians 3:16:

"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say: And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your Seed, who is Christ."

The promise of Jesus Christ is therefore NOT made to many "seeds" of different ethnic nations, but to only ONE nation, namely the TRUE church of Jesus Christ, the church that walks by FAITH and nothing else. Neither by laws, nor by traditions, nor by dogmas, nor by doctrines, only by FAITH!

This point is distinctly illustrated in Galatians 3:7-9 where Paul says:

"Therefore know that ONLY those WHO ARE OF FAITH are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations (on earth) shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."

At the same time verse 14 pulls it through to Christ by stipulating:

"...that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we (who are also Gentiles) might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

Therefore, if we, as Gentiles, are of faith (in other words, if we believe), WE ARE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM! Does it refer to physical, ethnic children in our case? Definitely not. But it does refer to spiritual children. What further assurance for this fact do we receive in the Bible? Do look at Galatians 3:28-29 again:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Wonderful! I praise the Lord that I (and I am most definitely not a ethnical Jew) may also be Abraham's heir according to God's promises.

Romans 3:29-30 describes it even more clearly to anyone who might still be doubtful:

"Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also (the "Gentiles" include you and I, and people of all the other races, because we are not ethnical Jews), since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith."

Or Romans 9:25-26:

"As He says also in Hosea: I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, there they shall be called sons of the living God."

Already in Psalms, specifically in Psalm 82:8, the Psalmist calls out:

"Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit ALL the nations."

It is also distinctly mentioned in Ephesians 4:4-6:

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of ALL, who is above ALL, and through ALL, and in you ALL."

Therefore I have no doubt that we are NOT ethnic JEWS, but indeed spiritual Israelites, only because the Israel referred to in the Bible ALSO refers to God's total, true church in the world. But I want to state unequivocally that I DO NOT BELIEVE in the so-called "replacement theology" which teaches that the Christian church "replaced" the nation of Israel regarding all the promises in the Bible. It is definitely not true. All the promises in the Bible regarding the physical nation of Israel is still applicable to them today. But just as the Israelites had to move out of Egypt into a new Canaan, we as God's true church have to move OUT OF a WORLDLY "Egypt" and move into a SPIRITUAL "Canaan", a spiritual promised land.

Romans 8:14 and 17 clearly states:

"For AS MANY as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God...and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..."

Do you see? "...AS MANY as..." means EVERYONE who is led by the Spirit, including ethnic Jews who recognize Yeshua ha Maschiach, Jesus Christ the Messiah. It doesn't only refer to a geographical or ethnic group of people. What does being heirs with Christ mean to us? Let us see what Hebrews 1:2 has to say:

"...has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of ALL THINGS, through whom also He made the worlds."

Jesus Christ, the Son, has been APPOINTED as heir of ALL that had been made. And what about us? We are JOINT HEIRS of ALL that! We, even as Gentiles, who: "ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD..." have been appointed in that position by God Himself! Wow, what a wonderful thing to know, don't you agree? But, did you notice that there is a very specific condition attached to this - "...who are led by the Spirit of God..."? Are you led in that way yet, my dear friend? If not, won't you read Chapter 5 again where I discussed the baptism/infilling with the Holy Spirit?

According to Funk & Wagnall's New Practical Standard Dictionary, "appointed" also means "To name or select (a person for a position)" or "To ordain, as by decree, command..." God Himself has ordained Christ as heir of all and therefore we, His children, are fellow-heirs and fellow-owners of that "all" that belongs to Jesus Christ. Just look at the clear way Paul states the fact that we are heirs of God, in Galatians 4:5-7:

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Isn't this wonderful to know? Thank you, THANK YOU Lord!

Another verse that proves that we Gentiles are not physical Jews is found in Romans 2:28-29:

"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that OF THE HEART, IN THE SPIRIT, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."

We must take extreme care not to be tempted or blinded into believing erroneous doctrines. There is only one truth and that truth is JESUS CHRIST! Any person, church, denomination, dogma or tradition that does not preach only the truth of Jesus Christ, His kingdom and His church, is false! There is no such thing as a Jesus-plus gospel. There is no Jesus-plus baptism, or Jesus-plus dogma, or Jesus-plus rapture, or Jesus-plus tradition, or Jesus-plus anything else! No, it is only JESUS! The rest of those things are all revealed to us and all follow from that intimate personal relationship with Him. It all starts with a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Look at the way in which Paul warns the Galatians in Galatians 3:1- 3:

"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"

Confirmation of the fact that we Gentiles are spiritual children of Abraham's and therefore spiritual Israelites, is also found in Galatians 3:7:

"Therefore know that ONLY THOSE who are of faith are sons of Abraham."

Why? Because Abraham also believed. Faith is the only thing which delights God, according to Hebrews 11:6. God is not delighted with doctrines, traditions and dogmas! Abraham already believed (in other words, he had faith) several centuries before the law of Moses came. Accordingly the law came a long time after faith. Four hundred and thirty years later actually. But why did it come? So that people could be shown their sins.

Did you notice that Abraham himself was neither a Jew nor an Israelite? How can I say that? Because Abraham walked the earth LONG before Jacob's struggle with God and "Israelites"/Jews were only brought forth after that meeting. Thus the promise of Jesus Christ had been made to Abraham centuries before the "Jews" came. Contrary to popular belief in some religious circles, the promise of Jesus Christ is therefore not ONLY applicable to Jews. Let us take another look at the words of Genesis 22: 18:

"In your seed ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

These words certainly don't say: "...in your seed only the Jews shall be blessed..."

The true church of Jesus Christ to which I have referred in this chapter is not merely a parenthesis (a temporary part in brackets) of God's plan for the earth. No, God's plan for the earth, and for His true church, has stayed the same since the beginning of time! The law/s on the other hand were indeed that temporary parenthesis in God's plan. The laws were temporarily included to teach humans about sin. Temporarily? Yes, just until the descendant came. The descendant? Yes, Jesus Christ.

Friend, these matters that I refer to are without a doubt part of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How can one test whether it is indeed true? An internationally acclaimed pastor and author explains it as follows:

"If it's truth, the more you examine it, the stronger it becomes. If it's tradition, the more you examine it, the weaker it becomes."

Is that not a fact? Are you searching for the truth? Do investigate it for yourself and let Christ (the Truth) Himself lead you towards it, then see how it becomes stronger in your life. Are you still looking for traditions? Then let the traditionalists around you lead you there. But don't be surprised if the questions that the Holy Spirit starts to ask you make you let go of those traditions because they seem to grow weaker very fast. The fact is that they do actually become weaker. With Jesus there is no easy mid-way between the truth and tradition. Truth will always prevail because truth is a Person, called Jesus Christ! Traditions, on the other hand, are man-made. The truth, as I wrote earlier, will always set you free, as is stated very clearly in John 8:32:

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

I am eternally grateful towards God that I may also be a child of the promise, and that His fantastic truth has set me free from the rule of sin and death! Traditions on the other hand, make the Word of God of no effect, as Jesus Himself warned:

"Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye." (Mark 7:13)

Friend, BE WARNED! See how Galatians 4:28-29 explains it that we will be persecuted when we choose for Jesus:

"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now."

In this verse the Bible confirms once more the fact that, as in Jesus' time, the rigid, traditional, "doctrine-following" worldly church, the false religious system will persecute the true church of the Spirit. My dear friend, where would you prefer to be? Safely part of the worldly, or part of the TRUE, (persecuted) exciting, spiritual church? The choice is yours.

28. In God's eyes we are all equal (Back to top)

The love of Jesus does not view the world through colored lenses. No, ALL who praise His wonderful Name are equal in Jesus' eyes, no matter how people may reason about this. Should you disagree, why not take a look at what the Bible has to say? Who does not know the well known John 3:16?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Friend, it does not say: "...that every white person who believes in Him, should not perish..." NO! It says: "...WHOSOEVER...". "Whosoever" means every single person, irrespective of race, language, skin color or position in society, who believes in Him. Can I make it any simpler still? The Bible can, most certainly! Read Romans 1:16:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to EVERY ONE that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Therefore the gospel was not, and is not, exclusively for Jews or just for the white people, it is for ALL other races as well, because Paul clearly stipulates in the beginning of his letter to the Romans, verse 5:

"By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among ALL nations, for his name..."

Any person who wants to deny this truth effectively tries to turn Jesus into a liar because as quoted above, the Bible is very particular on this issue. Also take a look at Hebrews 2:9:

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death FOR EVERY MAN."

Dear friend, I MAY NOT be so arrogant towards God to ignore this truth from His Word, no matter WHO or WHAT I am! The truth of the gospel is available to every person on this earth who turns to God, becomes born again and who starts walking in this truth, irrespective of his race, creed or color.

It is not without reason that the Holy Spirit says:

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Why? Because GOD IS LOVE! Our human logic cannot comprehend the circumference of that wonderful love neither can we peer into its deepest being. Therefore, because of our fallible humanity which hates, becomes jealous, envious and feeling superior, we fail to believe that God's love is meant for all races, for our own self- righteousness refuses to love all races around us.

Yes, Christ gave Himself as ransom for EVERYONE, as 1 Timothy 2:6 distinctly says:

"Who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time."

He is also the Savior of ALL PEOPLE, as stated in 1 Timothy 4:10:

"...who is the Saviour of ALL men, specially of those that believe."

Clearly then He is the Savior of ANYONE whole believes in Him, irrespective of color! Once again I praise the Name of our wonderful, living God for being so absolutely fair!

Who are we then, dear friend, to discriminate against anybody?

29. The first multi- racial church (in Antioch) (Back to top)

It is very interesting to learn about the establishment of one of the first churches during the time of the apostles in the book of Acts. This was a "multi-cultural" or a "multi-racial" church, with amongst others, Jewish, Greek, Cypriote and African leaders. Don't you believe me? Quickly page your Bible to Acts 11:20-21:

"And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord."

It does not sound very extraordinary, does it? Do take note, however, of the fact that the men from Cyrene preached the gospel of Jesus Christ TO the Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists), and that a large number of people were converted. Acts 11:26b further explains:

"And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

The fact that the disciples (pupils of Jesus), or the faithful, were called "Christians" for the first time in history in the church of Antioch, where amongst others men from Cyrene preached the gospel, is quite significant. Should you read the entire story in the Bible, you will learn that rumors about the phenomenal expansion of this congregation soon reached Jerusalem. Barnabas was commissioned to go and investigate, and he was very pleased to see what God was doing in that congregation. Barnabas then again sent for Saul to assist him in the managing of the church.

With the addition of Barnabas and Saul, this church now boasted members of Jewish, Cypriot, Cyrenese and Greek-speaking Jewish heritage. A true church of ethnic diversity! And precisely here the faithful were called CHRISTIANS for the first time! This was a real eye opener for me personally. Before I continue I would like to clarify the word Cyrene, which is a generic name for AFRICA. This means that also men from Africa, people of color, were FOUNDATION MEMBERS of this first multi-racial church of CHRISTIAN believers.

What did the top structure of this church look like? Acts 13:1 describes it as follows:

"Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger (a black man), and Lucius of Cyrene (from Africa), and Manaen (Jew), which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul (Jew)."

Clearly this church's leaders consisted of a variety of races, as all these races had "prophets and teachers" in this church. God instructed the prophets and teachers to separate Saul (also known as Paul, the apostle) and Barnabas for Him to enable them to go on a missionary journey. Ask yourself: Who appointed those "prophets and teachers" in Antioch? It was God Himself through his Holy Spirit, most definitely not the people, or man-made hierarchies or committees!

These leaders then prayed for Saul and Barnabas, laying their hands on them and letting them go. Now only the men from Africa, the Greek speaking Jews and the Cypriot men were left to manage matters at the church. God therefore regarded them fully equipped to handle matters under the guidance of the Holy Spirit after having sent away their teachers on a missionary journey.

This first multi-racial church was clearly a definite success story in God's eyes! Why? They functioned solely as one body under direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, and not through man-made traditions and/or human doctrines!

30. Does racial discrimination (in any form) equal love? (Back to top)

I strongly believe that God wants to showcase His Divine work in a powerful manner specifically in South Africa. Our country has a deeply imbedded cultural and racial diversity, and through His love in us, teaching us to love one another irrespective of skin color or language in a natural way, it will be an example of the real Jesus love and true unity in the Spirit, to the whole world. I further believe that the revival that has already taken place in our country will have a ripple-effect that will soon reach the rest of the world.

Still there is a great amount of hatred towards each other, between people of all races, a result of and the after-effect of our country's dark past. These mutual feelings of hatred are completely unacceptable to God. The constant media coverage of "apartheid", "racism", mutual hatred, "reverse-apartheid" and the like only creates more hate and envy. Take another look at the chapter on "Peace" and ask yourself whether this is part of God's plan? Also consult Galatians 5:19 with regard to this issue.

Without a doubt the Bible expects us to withstand ANYTHING that prevents the love of God to be pursued in any given situation. Nowadays there are so many "anti's" in our spoken language: e.g. anti-Semitism, anti-apartheid, anti-socialism, anti-humanism etc. Personally I am anti-ANYTHING that withholds people from having a personal relationship with the living Christ, and I am most definitely only PRO-JESUS! If more people were willing to become pro-Jesus, all these fancy words to justify ourselves would be totally unnecessary.

I fully agree with the words of one writer: "True unity is in diversity, not in conformity". I'm convinced that God had in mind diversity and not conformity, when He created all the races on earth. Do take another look in Genesis 11:1-9, at the history of the tower of Babel and the dispersion of its people. However, as explained in detail in Chapter 28, God's plan for all of us, irrespective of our culture, is to be ONE SPIRITUAL nation. Our modern society (encouraged by the enemy, the devil) brought the idea of uniformity with such force that much frustration, friction and heartache exist to this day as a result thereof. The plain fact that it causes frustration, friction, heartache and/or hatred already proves its origin! I again wish to refer you to Romans 16:20 that explains the fact that satan will be crushed by "God's peace". Please tell me, do any of these worldly issues, that are (however subtly), forced onto different racial groups, cause true lasting peace? If not, can there be any doubt as to its origin?

Unfortunately there are still certain religious and political groups alleging that the gospel is only meant for certain people, and that God did not mean for people of all races to be saved. Apart from the fact that I have already refuted these arguments from the Bible in previous chapters, I would like to draw your attention to Acts 8:26-40 about the conversion and baptism of an Ethiopian eunuch (a black man) which is one of the most well known bits of evidence against these arguments. Verses 36-37 explain it as follows:

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

Then Philip baptized the eunuch and the Spirit caught Philip away to Ashdod. The eunuch then delightedly went on his way. If the love of God and the gospel had only been meant for the ethnic Israelites, or for white people, why then did Philip receive a direct order from the Lord's angel to go to that specific road in verse 26, and why again in verse 29 did he receive an order to stay with the wagon of that specific eunuch (from Ethiopia = Africa), directly from the Spirit? Simply to prove that the gospel is given for the salvation of EVERYONE on this earth, no matter from which race, as long as they choose to become born again!

Someone once said to a minister that he refuses to go to heaven with a person of color. The minister answered that in that case he would certainly go to hell with some of them, and would going to heaven with them not be the better choice?

A further interesting aspect to note is the fact that God never allowed the extermination of the Moabite (dark-skinned people), as opposed to other nations that were exterminated in the Old Testament. Why not? Because God's future plans included Ruth, a Moabite woman, who was one of the direct ancestors of Jesus, as written in Matthew 1:5:

"And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse..."

Also noteworthy is the meaning of "Moab", being: "from my father". The Moabites originated when Lot's eldest daughter had intercourse with her father and afterwards gave birth to a son called Moab, the father of the Moabite nation. Very evidently neither skin color nor origin plays any role in God's almighty plan for man. Friend, racial discrimination very definitely does NOT equal God's TRUE LOVE. However, through the ages the devil ensured that it would become a very important issue to prevent true peace among people, thereby to try and prevent his own eventual crushing, as previously referred to in Romans 16: 20.

31. The signs of the last days (Back to top)

Much has been and is still written about the "last days", but the loveless behavior of the world is most CERTAINLY a sign of the last times in which we live, as described in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (In other words, keep away from these people.)

Let us consider these words in more detail. Unfortunately it is definitely very true that people are "lovers of themselves", because their own achievements or possessions become more important than true love. I can speak from experience as I was also like that. Covetousness or greed, or "love of money" is at the order of the day, taking into account the amounts of money spent on gambling or the lottery, or TV programs like "Greed" (even its name is against God's Word) and "Who wants to be a millionaire?". People are indeed "proud boasters", judging by so many daily conversations about our houses, cars and possessions.

Furthermore we have without a doubt also become "blasphemers", because so much pleasure is derived from discussing others or gossiping about people. Being "disobedient to parents" is proved by the general lack of discipline at all levels of society! And I have already dealt with the aspect of the "form of godliness" in Chapter 23. Do I really have to continue? No actually not neither do I WANT to, because all these things are simply negative, while God expects us to always be POSITIVE with His love in us, irrespective of our circumstances!

Let us then make an effort to actively speak LIFE, to live LIFE, and to radiate only positivism to an extremely negative world around us on a daily basis. We are prone to regard problems as insurmountable when we don't walk with the living Jesus Christ. Why? Because we keep on staring at the problem, instead of at the solutions a walk with Jesus brings. I mustn't expect problems to steer clear of me once I start walking with Jesus. Please take note: when I give my heart to the Lord, it does not imply that: "Pooff -all my problems vanished into thin air". No! The only difference is my newly acquired ability to look PAST my problems to the OMNIPOTENCE of God regarding that situation. Suddenly I realize that God is much bigger than any insignificant little problem that I might battle with or be confronted with.

Suddenly I'm able to live and walk POSITIVELY and in VICTORY, REGARDLESS of my circumstances. Instead of asking: "Why does this or that happen to me?" like I did in the past, I now start asking: "How do I react under these specific circumstances as a child of God?" Instead of blaming God FOR my circumstances I now learn to look FOR God IN my circumstances.

As I have already written, we ARE MORE than conquerors in Christ! A wonderful thought, is it not?

32. The fruit of the Spirit (Back to top)

Clearly God wants us to stop being so negative. He only expects TRUE and GENUINE love from us. And where do we find this love? Only with Him! How would He like us to be? He wants us all to bear the fruit of the Spirit as clearly stipulated in Galatians 5:22,23:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Let us do a quick self- examination-

Do we have that LOVE in us when we regard ourselves better than another, or when we regard it to be beneath us to even help a lost beggar on the street?

Do we actually pursue PEACE if we harbor hatred, criticism and judgement, or continue slandering other people, churches or races around us?

Do we practice LONGSUFFERING (patience) when we easily become irritated or frustrated when a shop assistant is very slow or a taxi suddenly stops dead right in front of us?

Do we demonstrate actual KINDNESS or SELF- CONTROL when we curse or yell at an employee who does not act quickly enough in MY opinion, or failed to do something according to MY wishes?

Are we indeed FAITHFUL if we are dishonest, in even the slightest manner, towards a colleague or the opposition during a business transaction? Are we trustworthy in ALL our ways? Do we perhaps regard our faith and our career as two separate entities, which may not be intermingled?

Do we really radiate JOY and FRIENDLINESS when we enter church, or walk down the street with stiff necks and tight lips?

Do all nine of these characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit TRULY form part of our daily lives? Do we REALLY strive towards these characteristics?

Are all these fruits visible in YOUR day to day life, dear friend? If not, won't you ask Jesus to assist you in ACTUALLY making them part of your life? It brings awesome joy to daily experience that love, peace and so forth, regardless of your circumstances!

Man, it's GREAT being a child of God!

33. Tithing, or my finances in God's hands (Back to top)

This aspect is over- accentuated by some to such an extent that one later believes that tithing is a guarantee – and the only guarantee - for receiving God's blessings. The other extreme also exists, where people underestimate or even ignore the importance of this issue, either through ignorance or by choice.

Before I continue I would like to emphasize the following GREAT truth: DO NOT ALWAYS MEASURE GOD'S BLESSINGS IN MONEY!

I notice it daily. The moment you discuss God's blessing with someone, that person almost instantly links it to financial wealth! Is that the only area where God actually blesses us, or where we really want to be blessed?

Wouldn't you also regard the following as blessings?

We can breathe normally while other people are dying from lung cancer;

The natural beauty around us - every tree, every flower, every leaf, every blade of grass, every creature - that God created for OUR pleasure and appreciation on earth;

The food and clothes that we have in abundance while millions of people worldwide literally and physically yearn – and fight to the death - to scrape together a few morsels to feed their children;

The love of our spouses, children, family and friends who support and encourage us;

Our physical, bodily health, while many people have lost arms, legs or other bodily members. We regard it as a matter of course - imagine what the monetary value of perfect health would be for those people!

Does this give us the right to expect God to give us these things as a matter of course? Do we ever thank Him for everything? I'm not referring to half-hearted, taken-for-granted thanks, no! I mean a deep, true, overwhelming gratitude - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Lord, God of all gods, King of all kings and Lord of all lords! DAILY!

I made a friend at one of the Christian camps that I went to. God healed him and gave him back his mobility after eight years of battling with a left leg that was left lame after a motor accident, and that had to be bound in a metal brace. How did some of his friends react on his recounting this wonderful blessing from God? "No ways, God is not that good, things are not all that well with you, look at your finances!" At that stage he was on the verge of being declared insolvent. Man, oh man, WHERE are our priorities? WHAT are we looking at?

Returning to the issue of tithing a Biblical truth and reality which originated early in the Old Testament. Friend tithing is VERY DEFINITELY still applicable today. However I regard it in an alternative manner, which I will discuss later. I can quote several testimonies of people whose personal or business's finances radically changed the moment they decided to give their full tithes. The first reference to tithing in the Bible is found in Genesis 14:20 after Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek. The verse reads as follows:

"And he (Abraham) gave him (Melchizedek) tithes (one tenth) of all (the spoils of war)."

A bit further in history we read the words of Jacob in Genesis 28:22:

"And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of ALL that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

In Leviticus 27:30 we read in the old laws of Moses:

"And ALL THE TITHE of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD."

Solomon also made it clear in Proverbs 3:9-10:

"Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of ALL thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." (the question is always asked: Do I have to give a tithe of my nett or gross income? Look at the words again- "...ALL thine increase...");

Also in Proverbs 11:24:

"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."

Therefore, if I do NOT give my tithe, that which is "right", I am thereby actually leading myself into poverty. Then probably the best known verse regarding bringing of tithes in the Bible, being Malachi 3:8-10:

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: FOR YE HAVE ROBBED ME, EVEN THIS WHOLE NATION. Bring ye ALL the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Isn't this a DREADFUL WARNING and a wonderful promise? The great God ASKS us to try Him, and if we do so, and do so correctly, He will bless us with blessings BEYOND our wildest dreams! BUT, and this is a huge "BUT", I repeat that: "...such blessing that there will be not room enough to receive it...", does not necessarily refer only to FINANCIAL blessings. We are always inclined to think that giving my tithes means God will FIRSTLY and ONLY financially bless me abundantly.

Financial blessing does form a part of it yes, but these blessings also manifest in innumerable other ways. For example: God can prevent my old car from often breaking, despite the fact that it has already completed its life span. My family members and I never fall ill when I don't belong to a medical scheme, and so the list continues. The problem lies in the fact that we always want to see blessings in monetary value, due to pressure from the world and the lies of satan. However, we cannot help but praise and glorify God continuously once we start NOTICING how He blesses us if we REALLY bring our tithes!

You might have noticed that so far all the verses that I have quoted came from the Old Testament. The question then arises whether the giving of tithes is still applicable after the coming and crucifixion of Jesus, in the time that we live in, and whether it is still part of our lives in the New Testament? Let us look to the Bible for an answer, as with everything we have done so far. It has answered every one of our questions thus far in this book, why not this one as well? In Luke 6:38 we read the following words:

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Acts 20:35b stipulates:

"...and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

And so does 1 Corinthians 16:2:

"Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him..."

This is what 2 Corinthians 8:12 has to say:

"For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not."

In 2 Corinthians 9:7 we read:

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."

Finally I would like to refer to 1 John 3:17 with its gripping question:

"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"

What am I trying to say with all these quotes? To me it is obvious that as with the old laws that are no longer applicable by the letter nowadays but are now written on our hearts, as explained in Chapter 13, the giving of tithes is also no longer compulsory. Since the crucifixion of Jesus it has been substituted with the law of LOVE. This new law changes the obligation of "I HAVE to" give a tithe into an urge of: "I simply WANT to" keep on giving according to my ability, or even beyond my ability, because I know God will provide for me in abundance, in confirmation of the text: "...what you sow, you will reap...". It definitely depends on our own calculation of what we are willing to give. How much do I want to be blessed?

Undoubtedly EVERYTHING that we own belongs to God, not only a tenth thereof. Out of gratitude for all the Lord's wonderful blessings, I personally would have loved to give back to Him EVERYTHING that I have received, had it been possible. But God wants us to live, and then in abundance.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

Thus He initially asked for a tenth, and I do feel that out of the love we now have for Him, we should at least return a tithe of ALL that we receive, according to God's instruction and promise in Malachi 3:10. Thereafter we will certainly feel pressed by the love inside us to continue giving, even though we might already have given more than a tithe in that specific month.

Effectively I cannot stop giving once I'm filled with the love of Jesus. And there is also a well-known saying: "You cannot out-give God!"

There are those people who distinguish between the giving of a tithe, the giving of alms and the giving of an oblation. Personally I regard it all blended into one great loving action of GIVING, GIVING and GIVING! And what does God do when He sees my obedience to His Word? He gives back in return: thirty-, sixty- or a HUNDRED-FOLD! Halleluyah! The love inside me will continue pressing me to give and I will not be able to resist giving my tithe, because I know from my personal relationship with Jesus that He wants me to give, in order for Him to be able to bless me for that, according to His promise.

The Lord certainly wants to manage our daily finances and wants to bless us actively therein if we simply show obedience towards Him by giving back in love that which the Holy Spirit leads us to do. Once more this requires a paradigm shift in each of us. Previously giving a tithe was regarded as compulsory according to the old laws. I now regard it as a cheerful act of love, not necessarily ending at one tenth of all my income. Dear friend, do we AT ALL realize how comprehensive God's wonderful love is? NO SINGLE aspect of our lives remain UNTOUCHED by His love. It uplifts, improves and extends ALL aspects of our lives, including our finances!

Our churches should naturally set the example of living the principal of giving. I do, however believe, that churches should not give the minimum of a tithe only, but should utilize as much of their income as possible for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, churches should actively preach the giving of the tithe, seeing that it is indeed a Biblical reality that has many times proven to bring God's blessings to those who actively tried God on His word. Here I most definitely include myself. It is senseless for churches to compare themselves to other churches in this matter. Each church and church council should ask for God's guidance in this regard, and should measure themselves only by God's standards.

I repeat God's words: "...and prove Me now herewith..." I have personally done so and WHAT an incredible adventure!

34. Oh "damn", this swearing! (Back to top)

In a previous chapter I referred to swearing at an employee and as a result, I have been contemplating for quite a while the fact that foul language has become such an integral part of our spoken language. Is it not a sign of the things to take place in the last days, as quoted in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 above?

There is hardly a modern film or TV program in which swearing and foul language occupy less than 25% of the total dialogue! Just attend any gathering of ordinary, God-fearing, church-going "Christians" at a dinner, game of sport or social function, and listen to the language used by men, women and children alike. The so-called "F-word" in particular has become an all-popular international hit. It's no wonder the children talk like that, because that's the way their parents speak! It's general knowledge that children simply follow the example set to them by their parents. Monkey see, monkey do. If Mom or Dad does it that way, clearly it has to be acceptable and therefore I may follow suit. The parents can therefore also not reprimand the children for using bad language because of their own guilt in this situation.

Crude language, cursing and obviously abusing God's Name all resort under foul language. (Go ahead and try the argument that what is regarded as a swear word by me, might not be regarded as such by someone of a different culture! The only question that matters is whether God finds that word acceptable or not, irrespective of what any other person of any other culture thinks.)

What does Jesus Christ and the Bible tell us about this aspect? Have we ever really tried to establish this? Oh, come on Tiaan is that really such an issue? Does the Bible actually meddle in such INSIGNIFICANT matters as the way I speak? Everyone talks like that, why shouldn't I? Friend, you're more than welcome to think that I'm stone crazy, but if we look at a few texts from the Bible, you'll clearly see what I'm getting at. If we want to be regarded as TRUE children of God, living according to His will daily, we CANNOT merely talk as we wish, but we should REALLY learn to place a guard in front of our mouths.

In the Old Testament Leviticus 22:32 tells it straight:

"Neither shall ye profane my holy name..."

The fact that so many people abuse the Name of the living God proves to me that He is indeed a living reality. How on earth do I come to that conclusion? That's easy. If Allah or Buddha or any other god of any other religion was a real, living god, its name would also have been abused as swear words, in films and other media, not so? But just because they are NOT living gods, they hold no threat for satan, and therefore their names are not used as such! They have exactly the same amount of power that Baal had (NOTHING/ ZERO/ NONE!) in the struggle between the prophet Elijah and the 450 Baal priests, as described beautifully in 1 Kings 18:19-40. Please do read that on your own.

By letting God's Holy Name be abused as a swear word or curse, satan attempts to make that wonderful Name powerless or to try and humiliate it, something which he won't ever succeed in doing. The fact remains that we may not desecrate God's Name with our mouths. Never! We may ONLY praise and glorify that Name, never use it disrespectfully, in a humiliating or destructive manner or in any other way whatsoever!

Please don't try to tell me that all the actors in movies and/or TV films are trying to praise and glorify the name of God when they use the words: "Oh, my God!" or "Jesus Christ!" over and over in various situations, just to use the infamous f-word in the very next sentence. God is NOT praised, glorified or exalted in that manner, friend! Any child of God knows that any true, born again Christian will NEVER use the name of God and the f-word in the same sentence, as the personal relationship he has with God will not allow him to do so! So, don't be fooled to think that God is given glory in the films where His name is used in this manner. That is a lie from satan! When we walk in that personal relationship with Him, we will never WANT to do such a thing. Then our only priority as far as the Name of the Lord is concerned, is to praise, glorify and worship it every moment of every day with our own mouths.

Ephesians 4:29 stipulates:

"Let NO corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

Please tell me what do the words: "...NO corrupt communication..." mean, other than NO foul language is to proceed from my mouth? But notwithstanding this clear instruction for the Word, we still try and worship God with song and prayer on Sundays in church after we've let flown streams of foul language from our mouths the entire previous week, or the Saturday on the sport field, or while socializing with our buddies, or even that same morning before going to church! I'm not even going to attempt creating a technical definition for "foul language" out of respect for our heavenly Father. As Colossians 3:8b puts it:

"But now ye also PUT OFF all these (not if we perhaps feel like it- no, we are ORDERED to do so);... filthy communication out of your mouth."

For a long time I personally thought it couldn't be that serious to let slip a tiny swear word from time to time, because sometimes it just adds a little "oomph" to a narration or a joke, man! Even more so if I relate an incident or a joke, spicing up the original version with a few of my own swear words added to the original version. Man, then I'm cool! Then I'm a man among men indeed! BUT then the Holy Spirit showed me the words of James 1:26:

"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue (by stopping among other things: cursing, swearing, gossiping, slandering), but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain (useless)."

Ouch! This means I can express my religious rituals Sabbath day after Sabbath day in church under the impression that I'm on the right track, but if I cannot bridle my tongue during the rest of the week, my religion is USELESS! This is not my point of view, dear reader, please read it in your own Bible. Take heed also of the words of Proverbs 14:12, which are repeated word for word (as an indication of its importance) in Proverbs 16:25:

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

Does your "way" of experiencing religion and your way of speaking and doing things seem "right" to you, dear friend? Take heed of the warning in Proverbs then! James 3:8-10 does not warn without reason:

"But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought NOT SO TO BE."

We simply may not use our mouths to praise and glorify God one day of the week, and to curse our fellow-man or employees, gossip, slander and use filthy language the rest of the time.

In Matthew 15:11+18 Jesus personally said:

"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man....But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man."

Therefore there is no argument about this: God most certainly does NOT want us to spice our conversations with crude language or to desecrate his wonderful Name.

Ephesians 5:1-2 summarizes it beautifully:

"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."

Dear friend, if I have the love of God in me and His Holy Spirit lives inside of me, I WILL refrain from either consciously OR unconsciously allowing filthy or crude language to go out of my mouth because I know I will grieve the Holy Spirit. John 13:34 explains it very well:

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

In this instance the accent is on "one another". Therefore we have to love one another, not merely as we think it should be, no, as Jesus Christ loved us! I cannot stop accentuating the all-encompassing importance of LOVE, because EVERYTHING in the world revolves around it and SHOULD revolve around it! Love and peace simply cancels out ALL ugly, negative issues. Try answering back with love and peace instead of anger and swear words next time you come across someone who is angry and upset. Most likely the person would initially like to shout at you but will soon calm down when he realizes that his anger has no control over you. Do test it and you will see in practice what the Bible means with the text that PEACE will crush satan under your feet. (Romans 16: 20)

I would like to conclude this chapter with the words of 1 Peter 3:10:

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him REFRAIN his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile..."

You might disagree with me with regards to my view on the use of crude language and whether it really is a problem. My answer is simply to let yourself be guided by the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of you, and ask yourself whether the specific word/s are acceptable to God (even though other people might find it acceptable). You will eventually find that you have stopped doing it, or that you don't WANT TO do it, no matter how "strong" or how "mild" that swear word sounded to you in the past. Why? Because Jesus does not want us to swear! Period! And why not? Because He never did!

35. "Brandy has no brakes" (Back to top)

Sounds like a funny little saying that easily glides off the tongue, not so? But oh, my dear friend, how much grief and how many tragic results have been caused by alcohol abuse? In this instance I think of broken marriages, unwanted teen pregnancies, suicides (among children and adults), bankruptcies directly caused by alcohol abuse, et cetera, et cetera...(If you think carefully you might personally add a few examples to this list.)

But Tiaan, does the Bible have a specific point of view with regard to this issue? You have to remember that Jesus actually turned water into wine, and He also drank of it, not so? Probably yes, but do you think he EVER became drunk? But Tiaan do you remember, the first thing Noah did when he came off the ark was to plant a vineyard and make wine? (Genesis 9:20-29) Yes friend, certainly, but read just a little bit further in that passage how the liquor caused Noah and his son's relationship to become permanently scarred. Likewise, according to Genesis 19:31-38 liquor led to both Lot's daughters having sexual intercourse with their father, which brought the sin of incest upon them!

As stated earlier, the Bible ALWAYS provides answers, so let's again leaf through the pages of this wonderful book.

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is NOT WISE." (Proverbs 20:1)

Obviously the Bible does not hold anyone who becomes drunk, in high regard. What does "not wise" mean other than 'STUPID!"? I also wonder how many people are REALLY impressed with people who abuse alcohol in public or at home, just to become rowdy and unsteady on their feet? Very few but it has become socially acceptable to shrug one's shoulders about this issue.

Due to my personal involvement with some shelters for beggars and hobo's throughout South Africa, I cannot help but agree with the following verses:

"He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich." (Proverbs 21:17)

"Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be NOT among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." (Proverbs 23:19-21)

"For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:7)

The results of alcohol abuse walks into these shelters as regularly as clockwork, their stories all almost identical, and nearly all have the same main cause - alcohol abuse. My dear friend, do you and I realize what we do when we start with one or two drinks at home and start drinking more and more, whether socially or alone at home? Oh yes, I know, drink is not your boss, you can handle your liquor! Say you! Nearly all the people at these different shelters reason in this same manner- and so they did when they still had permanent jobs and normal marriages...

The after-effects of alcohol is widely known, not so? It is certainly not pleasant, but still so many of us are willing to endure it almost daily, simply to prevent disappointing our worldly friends, our buddies. Look at the accurate description of that feeling that the Bible provides. (Many like myself, who quite often drank too much, know the feeling all too well.)

"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again." (Proverbs 23:29-35)

Do you know this feeling, friend? If so, why don't you give that to God as well, lay it down and go with Him on the new way, without drink? Take note:

"Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink..." (Isaiah 5:22)

Have you noticed how BRAVE and valiant (real heroes) and mighty men (and women) can be sometimes when it comes to drinking and mixing their drinks? Are you still part of that, or have you already chosen for Jesus Christ in your life?

QUESTION: Are you your buddies' hero... or are you a hero for Jesus?

ANOTHER QUESTION: If you are indeed a hero for Jesus, do you remain so even when you are with your buddies? (Listen, if not, why not? Are your buddies- who won't be with you for ever- more important to you than God – who is eternal?)

Please give God, and not me, the answers to these two questions.

Then the important final question: How exactly does God want us to handle alcohol in our lives?

"Let us walk honestly, as in the day; NOT in rioting and drunkenness..." (Romans 13:13)

"Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup..." (Proverbs 23:31)

"And be NOT drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit..." (Ephesians 5: 18)

Please just refresh my memory - what does Galatians 5:20-21 say again?

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;... drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Do we need to have it spelled out more clearly? Don't come to me with the argument that having only four drinks when you know you can "handle" ten, does not add up to "drunkenness". What are you trying to do? Are you trying to formulate a technical definition for "drunkenness" for the sake of God to prevent you from feeling guilty about being addressed by the Holy Spirit through this verse? No my dear friend, any number of drinks, whether it is one or twenty, that even SLIGHTLY affects you, your abilities or you inhibitions, IS REGARDED AS DRUNKENNESS in GOD'S eyes! Try as you may to reason about it! Remember that you don't have to convince me, but the Holy Spirit.

We have no choice but to choose for God and against the world. With "against the world" I refer to ANYTHING that prevents me from walking within God's will, alcohol abuse included most certainly. Where does your loyalty lie, dear friend?

"...know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4)

If you already have made a choice for Jesus against the world, therefore also against alcohol abuse, congratulations! Even more so if you were previously controlled by alcohol. Unfortunately when one is controlled by drink, the "fruits" that one's life bears is quite evident of that enslavement. Don't let the names that your old drinking buddies will now call you, or the sarcastic thoughts that they might harbor about you, in any way affect that liberating decision you made. Ages ago the Bible said the following about someone who makes such a decision:

"For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you" (1 Peter 4:3-4)

PRAISE THE LORD if you are called names and are picked out because you have chosen for Christ! You have already gathered a treasure in heaven for yourself. See what 1 Peter 4:12 and 14 has to say about that:

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you... If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."

Friend, please never forget that you can cause your brother to stumble and be lost for the kingdom through that which you drink or even eat. Romans 14:13, 15, 17 and 21 puts it as follows:

"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.... But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.... For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost....It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."

Friend if anything that I wrote here touched you, and you feel that "something" inside you is talking to you about your use of alcohol, please become very still in God's presence and take council with Him about this issue. And when He does answer you, please immediately obey His instruction!

But Tiaan, imagine how boring life without drink would be! No, my dear friend, your life becomes a joyous FEAST when Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit share it with you. Remember what the people said after the Holy Spirit came over the people in Acts 2:13:

"Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."

I would rather be permanently drunk with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is inside of me than to surrender my body to something that grieves God and the Holy Spirit and slowly but surely causes decay to my body.

36. Light and darkness (Back to top)

As a child, were you ever in a pitch-dark room, only with a torch with you? And did you ever pull the blankets over your head, illuminating the "tent" that you've created from the inside, with your torch? What did you notice? The darkness could not enter while the light of the torch was shining! Friend you see, just as light banishes the darkness, genuine Christian love banishes all ugly, negative things. Why? Because:

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)

Darkness cannot banish light, neither can satan and his demons banish genuine love from a born again child of God, unless that person allows it personally. The Bible warns in Matthew 12:43-45:

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

This text refers to that period when we cleaned our hearts for the Lord and banished all the old, unclean things when we decided to switch on God's light in our lives. However the fact remains that we have to DO something more after having switched on the light or the cleanliness in our hearts will only be temporary, and the old unclean spirit and his cronies will move right back in. Where the old spirits have moved out of our hearts, we now have to fill the space with the indwelling Spirit of God to prevent the old unclean spirit and his horrible cronies from moving into my heart again.

The point is, firstly we have to CHOOSE for Jesus Christ and His love. Just as we have to switch on a light to banish the darkness do we have to decide to SWITCH ON Christ's love and His LIGHT in our lives. Once that light has been switched on, the darkness may try any way it likes, it won't be able to banish the light- unless I personally decide to switch it OFF again. Try that experiment with a torch in a dark room - while the torch is switched on the darkness cannot cover or smother the light that fills the room. The moment I switch off the torch, the darkness is back and it dominates the room. The same principle is valid in our spiritual lives.

Matthew 5:14-16 says:

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your LIGHT so shine before men, that they may see your good works, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN."

My dear friend, where do you place your light? Under a basket or on the lamp stand? Somewhere deep in a ravine, or ON TOP OF the mountain? Do people glorify God when they look at you and your whole manner? The question is yours for the answering.

37. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood- also known as "satan's camouflage" (Back to top)

An aspect that I haven't heard much about in our reformed churches in my time, is the fact that there are evil spirits around us and we are indeed involved in a daily battle against them. We are all familiar with the words of Ephesians 6:12:

"For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

We have heard about this from time to time, but do we have any idea of what it is all about? Do we actually realize that there are INDEED evil spirits in the air around us, trying to take over and manipulate our entire beings in an effort to keep us away from God to ensure that we will share their eternal damnation? Or do we reason in the same manner as many of our ancestors who regarded speaking about this issue as a taboo, or who brushed it off as nonsense, saying that these things do not really exist? I assure you, dear friend, that it is NOT merely nonsense, therefore we have to take up the whole armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:13-17. Especially the words of verse 16 are important in this regard:

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

The wicked (satan) or the wicked spirits daily attack us with fiery darts which we have to ward off. Those darts come in the shape of thoughts, temptations, desires or situations that fan anger, aggression, hatred, envy or jealousy in us. With the shield of faith we can ward off ALL those fiery darts. The reason why we need God's armor is because we are warring with the enemy (satan himself!). But what had taken place through the ages? Satan camouflaged himself in the lies and deception in our minds. These include the beliefs that satan and his demons or evil spirits don't really exist, or are not dangerous enough to need our attention, or in some cases, that they are so mighty that we should fear them to the point of not being allowed to talk about them!

And what was the result of all these attitudes? The evil spirits were not actively addressed, they continued free of any hindrances in our lives! In this way satan paralyzed a large part of Christianity with his lies and deceptions regarding the existence of evil spirits. Imagine how easily a demon (who is spiritual and does not inhabit a body) can subtly sneak into the life of someone who denies the existence of demons, or is too scared to address the issue. This person's life can systematically be manipulated and dominated by the demon without the person even knowing it, seeing that he denies the demons' existence or fears them to the point of not talking about them, or believes that they are too strong and cannot be effectively resisted.

This person will eventually feel increasingly melancholic, might be feeling under the weather more regularly, will experience regular bouts of feeling ill and/or aggressive and will eventually become more and more depressed. What will his logical, human explanation for the situation then be? The manipulating spirit (there are many, a few of which I will shortly discuss) inside the person will make him believe that it is only caused by stress, work load or family problems, thus hiding the existence of the spirit/s in a very logical and comprehensible manner. And how will the person react? Firstly he will start taking medication to solve the "problem"! Friend satan is indeed a master of camouflage, even inside of our own bodies and thoughts.

A well-known South African speaker once said that satan divides our thoughts, causing fear in us, for as soon as my thoughts become divided and not PRIMARILY focused on God, I start to FEAR! So, the moment I do not primarily focus on God anymore, because satan has succeeded in dividing my thoughts, I become fearful. My fear leads to stress, stress leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to agony and eventually I end up in hospital. Medical science immediately names my "illness" and I get treated for it. Meanwhile the demons inside me are having a good giggle because they have once again camouflaged themselves in my "illness". The Bible explicitly tells us (more than 100 times) not to fear or worry. If we then do live in constant fear or with worry, we do so in unfaithfulness and sin, because it is directly in opposition to the word of God.

This is what Louis Malherbe has to say in one of his books about this issue:

"As long as you call this problem of distress (which eventually becomes fear) an "illness" (namely stress), you have to put up with it for the rest of your life. I'm telling you: as long as you can visit the doctor with your worries and he calls it "stress", you can get medication for it. It's a prescription, your medical scheme will pay for it, but you're stuck with it until the day that you die...and you will indeed die because of it. I guarantee that! BUT YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR TROUBLES TO GOD...What does God say about worries? What does God say about fear? He calls these sins! He calls them sins, and if He calls them "sins" He wants to take care of it right now, because He has taken care of it through His Son 2000 years ago. The Bible says: "He who still fears does not have perfect love yet." What is fear?...Fear is to create pictures of that which you don't want to happen. The opposite of fear is faith...Faith and fear are the two powers that battle for the human spirit today. If we would like to be consistent we have to accept that fear is having faith in satan. Because he provides you with the pictures of what you don't want to happen."

My dear friend, it makes you think, doesn't it? Did you also think that your regular tension headache is by now just a part of your personal make-up? Something that you'll be stuck with for life? No, it's not necessary! But be warned, just like Louis Malherbe points out, the Bible is very explicit in its warnings to us in this regard. Job 3:25 explains:

"For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."

WHAT!? Read it again - Ouch! Revelation 21:8 also warns:

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:..."

Are you still "fearful" dear friend? Do you still fear things that you think might happen to you? Why not ACTIVELY give it to God at this very moment? I promise you that the "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding..." will come over you! I have no doubt about it, because I did it in the same way. Please accept His invitation of love and a light burden, and immediately cast all fears, the "faith in satan" away from you! God distinctly tells us in the Bible that He harbors thoughts of prosperity, not of ill-fortune, for us, and therefore implicitly thoughts of health, not illness. We must never lose sight of this.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and NOT OF EVIL, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Just look at that! God does NOT think thoughts of evil toward us! Should something inside therefore start telling us we are in a sorry plight physically as well as spiritually, we immediately have to realize these thoughts are certainly not from God.

Let us look again at the Bible's point of view on the existence of evil spirits (or devils) and what is expected of Christians with regard to the issue. James 4:7 stipulates:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Do you see the first condition? "Submit yourselves therefore to God." You will not be able to resist the devil if you do not first submit yourself to God.

And

"Be sober, be vigilant; because YOUR ADVERSARY the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith..." (1 Peter 5:8-9)

The core message here is definitely "...steadfast in the faith...". What faith? Faith in God! Again, as with James 4:7, I will not be able to resist the devil if I am not steadfast in my faith in God and the power which He gives me in this regard.

Matthew 17:18 reads:

"And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour."

Jesus cast out an "unclean spirit" from the possessed man in Capernaum in the same manner as described in Mark 1:23-26. Also read Mark 1:32-34 and 39 as well as Mark 3:11. In Mark 3:15 Jesus delegates the power He had over evil spirits to ordinary people when He sends out the twelve apostles:

"And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils..."

Here it is already evident that ordinary people have also received this authority to cast out evil spirits directly from God. Probably the best known account on casting out evil spirits is found in two places, namely in Matthew 8:28-34 and Mark 5:1-13. I will now only quote a few of these verses, describing the story of Legion (meaning countless or a great many) who was possessed by a horde of evil spirits. It is estimated that he was indeed possessed by several thousands of unclean spirits, as a Roman legion consisted of between 5 000 to 6 000 men. You know the story of how Jesus sent the demons into a herd of two thousand pigs that drowned in the sea.

There is also the story of the young daughter of the Syro-Phoenican woman who also had an unclean spirit cast out by Jesus in Mark 7:25-30. There are many examples of disciples and apostles, in other words ordinary people, who had the power to cast out evil spirits, and certainly still has it today. Do take a look at the miracles performed by Philip in Acts 8:7:

"For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed."

Should you perhaps doubt the fact that EVERYONE who has faith and is a child of God indeed has the power to cast out demons, read Mark 16:17 again:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;..."

It very clearly does not say only the apostles or disciples who believed or who believe, or the ministers or pastors who believed or who believe, no, it says: "...them that believe...". In other words, EVERYONE who believes in Jesus will have the authority to cast out demons.

You question whether it still happens today. But of course! Remember Hebrews 13:8. The question remains, in which way? Is this aspect of our religious life practiced in the love and peace of Jesus, or has it become a mere obsession with some who want to cast out unclean spirits from everyone they come across, whether it is a necessity or not? Or has it perhaps become a "show" for some to gawk at while others prove "their powers"? This is most certainly NOT what God wants! During my eleven years in ministry I have personally attended hundreds of different occasions where demons / unclean spirits / evil spirits / devils were cast out of people (In ordinary spoken language this is referred to as "deliverance"). How did it happen, you ask? In absolute calmness and peace and in prayer, but definitely with God's authority! And most certainly without any "show".

What is deliverance? Deliverance is the "casting out" of, or the "liberation" from, any evil spirits that might harbor in a person, spirits that can come into a person's life in any of a variety of ways. During one such occasion I took an acquaintance, who has become a very dear friend in the meantime, to a person (we'll call him Dan) who had a deliverance ministry in one city at that time. During the entire "session", if I may call it so, there was no blowing on ram's horns, no curtains were drawn closed, no candles were lit, there was no shouting or shaking. Dan, my friend, and I sat together peacefully in Dan's sunlit lounge, talking, having Holy Communion together, and praying for my friend's deliverance. Dan, who also became a close friend in the meantime, firstly prayed a "deliverance prayer" and afterwards discussed certain aspects concerning deliverance with us.

Some of the reasons why people do not necessarily receive deliverance or maintain it are:

They did not COMPLETELY repent from their sins. It is critical that a person who wants to be delivered should be a born again child of God, and completely willing to co-operate in the spirit;

They do not get rid of cursed objects in their houses. Such objects can cause the person to stay cursed. I think of images of Buddha, eastern objects or paintings of dragons and snakes, idols and images of temples, African masks and drums with witch doctor connotations, etc;

They don't completely and sincerely forgive others who aggrieved or hurt them. In such a case the point is: the more complete the forgiveness, the more complete the deliverance;

They wish for deliverance for the wrong reasons, for example to only get rid of their problems, instead of desiring deliverance to allow them to get closer to Jesus and to serve God absolutely and unimpeachably;

They don't really WANT to kick the devil out of their lives, because of for example theological schools of thought, like the one that believes that Christians cannot really have demons in them.

It is quite obvious, then, that deliverance can indeed in certain cases be unsuccessful. In such a case the problem must be searched for at the door of the person seeking deliverance.

Then Dan said "A prayer to sever ungodly soul ties". (This prayer mainly deals with severing impermissible sexual practices or sexual relationships). After that he said a "prayer of healing memories". Personally I thought the following main themes of the prayer were wonderful:

Father, I thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for my sins, but also for my sadness (bruises) and my fears.

Lord, I pray that You will take my hand, take me back in time and walk to school with me. (Why? To ensure that the aches and hurts that I have carried since my first school years can be delivered and healed!)

Lord Jesus, I thank You for my mother, coupled with deliverance from any negative feelings that I might still harbor against her.

Lord Jesus, I thank You for my father, coupled with deliverance from any negative feelings that I might still harbor against him.

I lift my brothers and sisters up to You.

Thank You, Lord, that You were also there during my teen years.

Jesus, heal each hurt and disappointment that I had after I had just left the house.

Thank You, Lord, that You were there when we married.

Thank You, Lord, for my children.

Lord, I thank you that You were there during accidents, illnesses and operations and I pray for deliverance from all thoughts of trauma, horror and the pain that accompanies those.

Lord Jesus, thank You that You have now walked back through every second of my life till this moment where I came to seek deliverance...

After this Dan continued in prayer to cancel in the Name of Jesus all and any curses, bondages, hereditary diseases, depression and any other sins in my friend's life, while any hold of the occult was also removed and bound in the Name of Jesus Christ. Due to his being born again, my friend was again coupled directly to the bloodline of Jesus in prayer, and self-control, peace, joy, mental, spiritual and physical health and wisdom was prayed for in his life. Seeing that the process of deliverance sometimes takes quite a long while, and on that specific day it took more or less two-and a half hours, I cannot remember everything word for word. I merely point out the most important aspects, which to my mind stood out to accentuate God's involvement and His wonderful love in such a situation.

After having closed all occult doors in my friend's body, spirit and soul in the Name of Jesus Christ, Dan started calling satan's demons by the name. According to people who have been involved in the ministry of deliverance for a long time, there are approximately twelve to fourteen main demons (strongmen), each having hordes of lesser demonic manifestations, while there are several other important demons of which six are regularly experienced. These six also have several other, smaller manifestations. I also discuss these aspects in my books: "Passion for God" and also: "Identify the Lie".

The twelve strongmen are the following spirits:

Spirit of bondage (as referred to in Romans 8:15)

Spirit of fear (as referred to in 2 Timothy 1:7)

Deaf and dumb spirit (Regarded as one of the strongest - as referred to in Mark 9:25-27)

Spirit of mourning (as referred to Isaiah 61:3)

Spirit of infirmity (as referred to in Luke 13:11)

Spirit of familiarity/spirit of witchcraft (as referred to in Leviticus 20:6 and Deuteronomy 18:10-11)

Spirit of perversity (as referred to in Isaiah 19:14)

Spirit of harlotry (as referred to in Hosea 4:12)

Proud and haughty spirit (as referred to in Proverbs 16:18)

Lying spirit (as referred to in 2 Chronicles 18:22)

Spirit of the Antichrist (as referred to in 1 John 4:3)

Spirit of jealousy (as referred to in Numbers 5:14)

The other six important demons are:

Deceiving spirit (as referred to in 1 Timothy 4:1)

Spirit of seduction

Unclean spirit

Spirit of laziness

Spirit of slander

Jezebel spirit (extremely manipulating)

Apart from these there are certainly hordes of less important spirits, each manifesting in its own unique manner during deliverance. In the case of my friend as well as the other cases that I've witnessed, literally hundreds of demons also manifested as soon as each one's name was called. The manifestations came in the form of severe bouts of coughing, coughing up phlegm, yawning, or even breaking wind each time that a demon's name was called. Some were more stubborn and a prayer had to be said again. The demon would then be ordered in Jesus' Name, with the authority of God, to leave my friend's body, which it then did, in any of the ways mentioned earlier. By the end of the session my friend told us that he suddenly experienced a calm serenity in and around him. Until then he had never known that such a feeling could ever exist! Dan then declared that my friend was indeed delivered of any demons that had been in him, although he pointed out that certain manifestations could take up to two weeks to finally manifest and go out.

Seeing that we were there in any case, and the session was rather unlike the brutal ones that I have seen or read about in magazines and newspapers, I suggested that Dan also take me through the session so that I too could be delivered from any demons that I may have. Because I had been present all the time, the prayers were not all repeated, but the names of the spirits were called out in front of me. Dan simply shook his head every time to signal that the spirit concerned was no longer present in me.

However, when he called the name of the "proud and haughty spirit", a terrifying thing happened to me! At that very moment I experienced a sensation like that of two sharp claws grabbing me on either side of my back, just above my slacks. It was a physical, painful sensation! I told Dan, who confirmed that it was indeed the "proud and haughty spirit", which he had learnt through experience is indeed present in most South Africans. Dan then prayed for me while ordering the proud and haughty spirit to remove himself from me. While he was praying for me, calling the blood of Jesus over me all the time, I felt something like a wind moving forward from behind my ribs, up with my oesophagus until it came out of my mouth with the breaking of a huge wind. Dan confirmed that it was indeed the manifestation of the mentioned spirit, and that it has left me. I immediately experienced a feeling of serenity. He continued calling out the spirits, and only with the spirit of slander and the spirit of fear did I experience some minor manifestations.

Dear friend, this personal experience as well as the hundreds of other opportunities that I had to witness or partake in deliverance sessions accentuated to me the reality regarding demons and their actual existence in our everyday lives. I have no doubt that they do exist, also in us as ordinary people, and that they can be cast out to perish in the dry, waterless places where they belong in the Name of Jesus, with His authority. Keep in mind that a demon or evil spirit cannot exist without a body to dwell in. That's why the demons cast out of Legion pleaded with Jesus to send them into the pigs.

But take definite note of the fact that there in Dan's lounge where spiritual warfare literally took place I only experienced the love of Jesus throughout the entire episode. At no stage was there any sign of hatred, anger or aggression, but the spirits were chased away by the authority directly from God. The sessions took place in an atmosphere of tranquility, love and peace. I cannot help but quote once again the words of Romans 16:20 as I have already done several times in this book:

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly."

I gained first-hand experience of this peace that crushed satan in my friend's life, and finally also in my own life. I glorify and praise the Name of the Lord, our wonderful God, Councilor, Savior and PRINCE OF PEACE!

There are no two ways about it, we do have the authority from the Word of God to physically withstand the devil in our lives so that He will flee from us. Just as a final confirmation of this fact, please turn with me to Luke 10:19:

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents (symbol of satan) and scorpions (symbol of demons), and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Also true, as with other issues in our religious life, we should never regard "deliverance" or casting out evil spirits as an isolated pillar, as it could very easily turn into an obsession. No the casting out of devils or evil spirits is just one of several gifts and powers given to his followers by God once they start walking with Him. It should not be regarded as an isolated issue that does not really form part of my total religious experience. A fanatical, unbalanced deliverance "craze" can result in damaging the kingdom of God when the deliverance worker does not perform the deliverance in love, thereby scaring away potential children of God's kingdom.

The first thing that such a fanatical deliverance worker usually wants to do, is to deliver every person he meets from any possible spirits, even before he has introduced the person to the love of Jesus, or to conversion, or to salvation! If I were someone searching for an anchor in life, and was confronted by a person whose only interest is to cast out evil spirits before saying a word about Jesus Christ or His love, I would most certainly run away as fast as I could, and would think very carefully before I ever went near a church or any "radical" Christians again! My request then, is for each of us to use with great care and wisdom this authority to cast out demons as described in Mark 16:17. This should only be done under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Read the account about the sons of Skeva in Acts 19:13-16 as a warning to us if we do not act under that direct authority given to us by God personally.

38. The Good Sower (Back to top)

I would like to herewith conclude, ever grateful towards our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit for the revelations they made to me in writing this book, which I sincerely hope and pray will also be a blessing to you. As Paul wrote in Corinthians:

"But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1 Corinthians 2:10)

If you still have not made a choice for Jesus Christ, I once again ask you to PLEASE refer to the "prayer of confession" in Chapter 10. Pray it in all seriousness before God to enable your spirit to become BORN AGAIN, so that you can start on a wonderful new way with Him! If you have already made a choice for the Lord, and are currently walking this wonderful WAY OF LIFE with the living God, HALLELUYAH! I praise the Lord with you in all sincerity.

Should you regard yourself "past" all these things in your spiritual life, please refer to the chapters on "Humility" and "Spiritual pride" and ask yourself before God whether we are able to EVER move "past" the truth of the life-giving gospel.

Should I have hurt you with any of the comments that I made in this book, I pray in true humility that you will forgive me, but I agree with Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10:

"Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

If you are saddened at this moment, are you saddened to repentance (back to God) or saddened from a worldly perspective (away from God), which leads to spiritual death?

Maybe you query the authority with which I as an ordinary, unscholarly person who wasn't trained as a minister, a pastor or a theologian could write this book, addressed to you personally. May I then refer you to the words of Paul to Titus: (Titus was "a convert from the Gentiles..."), in other words simply an ordinary person, no apostle, learned minister or student of Scripture. Titus 1:13-14:

"This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth."

And Titus 2:1 and 2:15:

"But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:...These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."

Paul also tells the young Timothy (who was also not trained as a minister, pastor or theologian) in 1 Timothy 4:9, 11-13:

"These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine."

Please allow me to share with you in all humility a prophecy, pronounced over me once and then, lastly, I would also like to quote a few verses from Ezekiel, revealed to me by the Lord early one morning. The prophecy stated that the Lord ordered me to spread His gospel by means of writing, and that He would bless me for that. I'm most certainly already experiencing this blessing in the publishing of thirty three books He had me write since. Furthermore I can also freely testify that everything written down in this book flowed forth from revelations made to me in different ways by the Holy Spirit. I glorify, praise and thank God our Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit for that!

As far as the revelation from Ezekiel is concerned, the Lord hit me right between the eyes with the following verses at the end of September 2000. I know without the slightest doubt that these were directed to me personally at the time. When you read them, you will realize in the light of these verses that I cannot help but keep on writing, keeping the faith that perhaps more people will be reached and turned towards God.

All the glory for what happened to me, and for these books, belongs to God alone!

Ezekiel 3:17-21:

"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."

What more can I say? I HAVE to warn those around me! Dear friend, I only want to obey God in what I do!

Over the past few years I became very concerned about the fact that so many people hear the true Word of God, hang onto it for dear life for a while, live according to it and preach it whether in churches or at Christian camps, then suddenly fade away and "disappear" back into the world. I asked Holy Spirit about this, and He took me back to the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-9. Please read it through completely when you have time. The Holy Spirit then explained the parable to me, just as Jesus had done for His disciples in Matthew 13:18-23.

The part that falls by the wayside are they who hear the true message but do not initially understand it or who intentionally WON'T listen to it. The devil finds it very easy to immediately snatch away the bit of seed that was indeed sown in such people.

The part that fell on stony places, that immediately germinated but got scorched by the sun, are those who hear the Word and gladly accept it, but because they have not ACTUALLY grown any firm roots in God or their faith, they tumble the moment that they experience the least pressure, e.g. when their worldly friends mock them about Jesus, or when they start doubting what they have heard.

The part that received the seed among the thorns are those who do hear and accept the word, but simply lose it again because the temptations of the world, like money, wealth, status, position and power become too strong to resist. These things then expel the wonderful truth from such people's minds. They become coaxed away from God and choked by the world's temptations and enticements.

But then there is a fourth part that falls on good soil and yields a crop, thirty-fold, sixty-fold or a hundred-fold. These are the people who hear the Word, UNDERSTAND it and live according to it, thus bearing fruit in abundance.

My dear friend, did you notice the ratio? Three quarters as opposed to one quarter? Do you realize that this parable TODAY STILL directs a warning towards each of us? We have to do daily introspection to determine where we fit in. Are we in the worldly three quarters or in the spiritual, divine quarter? Where do you want to be, my dear friend? I know where I am and I PRAISE GOD for that!

Thank you for having walked through these pages with me. Thank you for allowing me to have become your friend in this manner. Should you wish to discuss anything touched upon in the book, you're most welcome to write to me at the e-mail address that will follow on the last page. While I'm referring to friends, allow me to quote only one single verse regarding this issue. This will show you that Jesus will also call YOU HIS friend if you make the right choice. John 15:14-15:

"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."

I pray that you have actually been touched by God in one way or another and that His message, even in my "theology- untrained" language, could really be meaningful to you now and in future.

All the glory, honor and worship from now until eternity is due only to God the Father, my one and only true Daddy, to Jesus Christ, His only Son, and to Holy Spirit, who lives inside me and every CHILD of God! Halleluyah, I glorify and praise the Name of the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords and of Emmanuel, God with us and God IN us !

###

About the Author: (Back to top)

Tiaan Gildenhuys has been in full-time ministry as an evangelist across denominational borders throughout South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi since 2003. He has published 12 books in English and 21 books in Afrikaans and approximately 60 DVD's with different messages from the Bible.

To view or purchase any of this author's other material, feel free to visit his official website: http://www.oicb.co.za and check out "Shop tiaan".

Should you like to correspond with this author, feel free to send an e-mail to: mailto:tg@oicb.co.za
