When it comes to heaven, the Bible gives us just enough information to whet our appetite but not satisfy our curiosity. Here are three hints about heaven:
(1) “There shall be no more curse” (Rev 22:3 NKJV). Unlike Eden, Satan won’t be there to tempt us so we won’t stumble. We’ll be at our best – forever. Every good New Year’s resolution we’ve ever made will be a reality.

(2) “God will wipe away every tear…there shall be no more death, nor sorrow” (Rev 21:4 NKJV). No failing health, grieving hearts or broken homes. The “Uppertaker” will put the undertaker out of business.

(3) “His servants shall serve Him” (Rev 22:3 NKJV). What is service, if not productive work? Jesus said those who are faithful over few things now, will rule over many things then. In the first paradise God gave Adam and Eve responsibilities; will He do less in the next one? “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isa 9:7 NKJV). God’s new world will be marked by “increase.” Increased planets? Increased colors, music? Seems likely. What does the Creator do but create? Will some of us serve then, in the capacity we serve now? Couldn’t earthly assignments hint at heavenly ones? One thing’s for sure: you’ll love it – never weary, selfish or defeated; clear mind, tireless muscles, unhindered joy. Heaven is a perfect place of perfected people with our perfect Lord. And here’s the best part: Jesus promised: “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (Jn 14:3 NLT).

Your yesterdays have made you what you are today, but your tomorrows can make you what God always intended you to become. Joshua was talking to a nation whose yesterdays were a long list of repeated failures and rebellion against God. They had been convicted, judged, punished and reinstated frequently by the God they’d flagrantly sinned against. Surely, they ought to have been cut off from Him, stripped of any future blessing. But “Joshua said to the people, ‘consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’” Consecrate yourself, realign yourself with God’s plans and watch Him begin to work in your life. Just when the enemy has you convinced that with your past God couldn’t possibly have a future for you, He calls you to prepare yourself so He can bless you. God is fully aware of your yesterdays, but He’s much more focused on your tomorrows. Why do we discard our tomorrows when we so desperately need them? When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30), His disciples misunderstood and concluded it was all over. So they slipped away to contemplate the tomorrow they thought would never be. But with God, every ending is a new beginning, and three mornings later the angel announced the resurrection and the new tomorrow that would guarantee the future for all believers. “It (your yesterday) is finished!” Don’t give up your tomorrows by building monuments to your past failures. Acknowledge, confess and release your yesterdays to the crucified Christ. “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Anxiety starts as a trickle, then creates a channel in our mind through which all our thoughts begin to flow. Most of our anxieties fall into three categories:

(1) Anxiety

about things we all face: like aging, disability, retirement, loneliness, financial uncertainty, accidents, illness, losing a loved one, and death.

(2) Anxiety about things we all must do: like making decisions, starting and ending relationships, losing weight, changing careers,

making a mistake.

(3) Anxiety reflecting our inner state of mind: These anxieties reveal how we feel about our ability to handle things. For example, fear of rejection can affect every relationship in your life. In order to avoid being hurt you shut others out, your world grows smaller and your opportunities for personal growth are more limited.

Many of our anxieties can be reduced to one question, “What if I can’t handle it?” Your mind is the battlefield where victory is won or lost. So ask yourself, “Would I still be anxious if I knew for certain I could handle anything that came up?” The answer is no. Anxiety can’t immobilize you and steal your joy when you know you can handle whatever happens. You say, “That sounds too simple.”

Not when you bring God into the picture! Here are two great anxiety eliminating Scriptures you can stand on when times are tough: (1) “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Php 4:13 NKJV). (2) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds” (Php 4:6-7 NIV).

A Roman soldier’s shield protected him from head to toe. It was made of iron, upholstered in thick layers of fabric, and saturated in water when going to battle. Consequently the flaming arrows of the enemy fizzled on contact. Getting the idea? Paul writes, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (NIV). Satan can’t penetrate a heart that’s pure, saturated in Scripture and fortified by faith. That’s why Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Lk 22:32 NKJV). It’s your faith that’s under attack; it’s your faith that needs to be fed and nurtured; it’s your faith that sustains you in life’s battles! Jesus said, “Have faith in God” (Mk 11:22). Note, He didn’t just say, “Have faith in something bigger than yourself.” No, He said, “Have faith in God.”
If you’re under attack today claim this promise: “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isa 40:29-31 NKJV). God gives each of us a “measure of faith” (Ro 12:3 NKJV). But Jude says you must develop it by “building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 20 NIV). Faith under attack is faith under construction. It’s in the battles of life that you discover whether you have nurtured faith or neglected faith!

The nineteenth-century writer Walt Whitman struggled for years to get anyone interested in his poetry. In the midst of his discouragement he received a life-changing note from an admirer of his work. The note read, “Dear Sir, I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of Leaves of Grass. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed. I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” It was signed by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Whitman enjoyed a long career and is now considered one of the giants of American literature. But when times were tough he needed encouragement to keep going. And he’s not alone.

When we’re on the brink of failure, the right word at the right time can keep us in the game. When we’re too tired or discouraged to keep going, an act of compassion can give us new strength. Encouragement is one of the central themes of the Bible: “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad”. “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees” (Isa 35:3). “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” (Isa 41:13).

Encouragement doesn’t deny the problem; it enables us to overcome it. It doesn’t validate stubbornness or stupidity; it simply corrects and guides us in the right path. It doesn’t leave us alone to carry the burden, it lets us know that God is present to help and strengthen us. So today, encourage somebody!

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were friends; they met at a convention sponsored by Edison’s company where Ford worked as an engineer. Someone introduced Ford to Edison as “a young man who has made a gas car.” Ford and Edison talked a while about the automobile, then Edison banged his fist on the table with excitement. “You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant.” Ford later recalled, “No man up to then had given me any encouragement. I had hoped that I was headed right. Sometimes I knew that I was, sometimes I only wondered, but here, out of a clear sky, the greatest inventive genius in the world had given me complete approval.” Sir Isaac Newton is best known for his Theory of Gravitation and description of the Three Laws of Motion. But Newton might never have published his work had it not been for Edmond Halley. A well-respected scientist in his own right, Halley visited Newton at Cambridge to discuss a problem he was working on, only to discover that Newton had already solved it. Halley encouraged Newton to publish his work, and even offered to do it at his own expense. The result was the publication of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687, which laid the groundwork for the study of mathematics and changed the way people see the world.

Who can you encourage to do great things? Who has God put into your life to cheer on, raise up, or assist on their journey? When you help others to do the things God created them to do, you share in their achievement.

 

 

 

Just when you thought that we had disappeared…we have not. We are well and alive still in Salzburg busy with the Lord’s work.

It is hard to believe that we have been here for nearly a year! It is truly amazing how quickly time flies, even when we are in a different land.

 

The one big thing that has changed since we last wrote is that it is now spring going on to summer. Wow! What a spectacular time. A huge change from the black and white if winter to the colourful, rainbow of wild flowers in the fields and in the flower boxes on all the balconies of the houses. We now have an even better understanding of why Europeans love to bask in the sun when they visit Africa or any other place that has sun! we too, have become the same. Every bit of warmth, we run outside and lie in it! Wonderful!

The 2008 school year is also coming to an end. The children are finishing off the last of their schoolwork and their summer holidays will begin in July – until September!! This year has also been a challenge for them. But, I praise God for His never ending love towards us. Daniel and Keziah have settled and are now beginning to have established relationships with some of their classmates. We are so grateful and blessed for the, many, prayers that are now being answered for them.

 

Since our arrival we have held the church services in Julie Bosma’s, Glenn’s mother, house. They have been intimate and close and have really helped us to build relationally with everyone that attended. In this time we learnt the language, which is on going, we ate together, laughed together, prayed together and worshipped together. A wonderful time. And yet, the time has come for new things. A new season is upon us and we have now moved to a bigger venue ( after many prayers ). We believe that Father will bless this time. That the people that He wants us to reach will be reached and touched by His Spirit. We are in a major hotel and are renting a conference room weekly. It seats about 100 people at the moment. We can also use other rooms should the need arise ( like for Sunday School ). The venue has made it easier for some of our members as well as the new families that we want to accommodate. We are now also have a morning service instead of an evening one. We are very excited about the new things that Father is doing and is going to do.

 

In March we went to Nürnberg in Germany and ministered in one of our sister churches there. It was so good to be with people that we know. Glenn ministered at the youth meeting on the Saturday night and on Sunday morning at the Sunday service. It was great to spend time with Harald, Baerbel and the kids. Thank you for your wonderful hospitality!

 

We were able to go to Latina, Italy at the beginning of April, for a few days, as it was a short Easter holiday. We stayed with an old friend of ours from South Africa. Glenn and the kids were able to experience a little of Italy and Rome for the first time. All the History that we had done paid off as we were able to explain many things that happened there. We even survived an earthquake!!! Yep, that’s right. We felt the after shocks of the earthquake that brought Aquila to its knees, 4.3 on the Richter scale is still quite a tremor!!! But, we thank God that He kept us and looked after us. It was so good to catch up on old times and to just have some time off. We were blessed! Thanks Angelo, Alex, Giulia and family.

 

On our return from Italy, a week or two later, Glenn’s mother had a heart attack. This shook us quite a bit and yet, afterwards, we were able to see God’s gentle hand through out this time. It was a time of much prayer and an internal inspection of our own lives. Julie had an operation in which the doctors placed a stent in her artery. She then was in hospital for at least a week and then had to go to a rehab clinic in which she was taught how to eat, exercise and basically ensure that she live a healthier lifestyle. She was in the rehab clinic for about 4 weeks. In her absence, Glenn had to organize and run her prayer ministry too. Or at least just keep the wheels turning while she was recovering. So this also took up a lot of time. We also had to run the church too. We would visit her at least once a week. Her clinic was about an hour away from Salzburg. We just praise God that He carried us all through this time. All of us in the house (8 people) were really shocked and devastated by all that had happened and so rejoiced when Julie came back home. It was really a time of victory for us. She is doing so well and is losing weight and exercising. We have also begun to look at how we live and move and have our being!!! In all things, we thank God.

 

Every Tuesday night Glenn also drives out to Munich

(about 170 kms away), to run a small home cell group in which he does the Purple Book. Although it is a long drive, just to have cell, it has brought results, in that there have been some salvations and deliverances! Wow! What a powerful time. Teaching people that really have no understanding about the fundamentals of Christianity. It is wonderful to see how the eyes of their understanding are opened. It is quite exhilarating. We know that Father has a very special plan for these people.

 

Glenn has also ministered for two weeks in Innsbruck at a seminar about Transformation. He ministered on his favorite topic – Discipleship.

 

In all of this time of travelling up and down we have found that as a family our living space has become really tight! We all live in Julie’s wonderful home (has 6 bedrooms, not including the seminar room, prayer room, office and formal lounge) in a small apartment that has two rooms and a bathroom. We all use the kitchen and dining room/lounge communally. Our time here has been a good time for us. We have been able to get settled and find our feet around people who love us and know what to do but especially, could speak the language!! But, our space has now become tight. We have been looking for an apartment or even a house to live in for a while now, but nothing has ever come up. And if there was a place it has been really expensive or too far or something that just did not suit us. We needed a place that was close to the school as well as close to Julie. So…we found a house!! The perfect one for us!! It is 4kms away from the school, not even 5 minutes away from Julie. We found it through Julie’s secretary, Gabi, thanks for being so led of the Spirit! She found it on the net. We called to view it, loved it, prayed about it and asked God to confirm whether or not this was the place for us. After a few days God confirmed!!! By blessing us with the money for the deposit, which was huge. We had to pay € 3500,00 for the deposit (and this was the amount after we negotiated a lesser amount, it was originally

€ 4600,00). Together with the deposit we also have to pay the agent’s fees too! (I know, it’s really strange in South African terms). Father has already given us half of the money for him too. We only need to move in on the 1/7, so that gives Father enough time to do His thing, like only He can!!! So we are convinced that this is the place. We are all excited about our new little place. The owner of the house is also a real blessing to us. She has allowed us to pack our boxes (our books and personal effects that came from South Africa) into her cellar already (our storage facility wanted us to take our boxes out, we had it for free!). She is so excited that we are moving in. The house has 3 bedrooms, an office, dining room and lounge, 2 bathrooms, a big garden, garage with electric doors that you can walk straight through into the house. The lady said that she is leaving the kitchen in. (Here we have to buy and install our own kitchen cupboards and built in cupboards and remove them when we leave) so we are really blessed that she has left us these, as well as a dishwasher!!! Yeah!!!! We know that God is the supplier of all our needs according to His riches in glory. So I am expectant of what and how He will furnish our new home.

 

God is so very good to us. We are amazed and blown away at His goodness.

 

Prayer is – amazing!

One Bible teacher writes:

“I read an interesting book by an unbeliever who attempted to ‘do in’ the Christian faith. Despite his lack of belief, I found insightful something he said regarding prayer. He called it ‘the most incredible conceit in the history of humankind,’ arguing that if you worked for General Motors as a lowly employee and wanted to see the boss, you wouldn’t have the remotest chance…Think about it. What would happen if a citizen tried to speak to the President of the United States? I’ve thought about putting in a person-to-person call just to see what would happen. I’d probably speak to an undersecretary to an assistant to somebody, but not likely the President…‘And so,’ says my skeptical friend in his book, ‘what an incredible conceit to suppose that at any moment we can talk to the boss of ‘the whole shebang.’ And indeed the concept of prayer would be an incredible conceit…if it weren’t true. But it is…and it’s the most incredible condescension on the part of a gracious God. You could probably never speak to the highly placed people in this world, yet the most highly placed Person in the universe – ‘the Boss of the whole shebang’ – waits patiently to hear what you have to say. ‘We can come before God with freedom and without fear…through faith in Christ’ (NCV). Don’t you find that amazing? This day and every day you have the great privilege of prayer. You can talk to the Boss, tell Him your worries and cares, share with Him your triumphs and joys – and He always has time to listen.” Prayer is – amazing!

Strife is defined as “conflict…struggle…rivalry,” and God’s Word says to avoid it at all cost: “Let nothing be done through strife…but in lowliness of mind let each esteem [the] other better than themselves.” Strife is custom-designed to play havoc in marriages, churches, businesses and relationships. It stems from our self-centered ego and leads to comparing, competing and condemning.

The Word of God says: “Where envying and strife is, there is…every evil work” (Jas 3:16). Keeping strife out of your life means recognizing and uprooting it before it grows; “See…no root of bitterness springing up, causes trouble, and…many be defiled” (Heb 12:15 NAS). And Paul adds, “Complete my joy by living in harmony…being of the same mind…having the same love” (Php 2:2 AMP). Enjoying God’s blessings requires doing all we can to live in harmony with one another. Is that easy to do? No, but the sooner you learn it, the better things will be.

When David saw Goliath he didn’t stop to consider the odds or listen to the opinions of others. Instead, he “ran quickly toward the battle…to meet him” (1Sa 17:48 NIV). Rapid response is required here. When God prompts you to turn the other cheek or take the short end of the stick, draw on His grace and do it. In fact, when you do it on your timetable you end up doing it in your own strength.

So: (a) forgive those who hurt you; (b) pray for them; (c) bless them by speaking well of them and wanting only good things for them. Your commitment to walk each day in love and forgiveness (yes, it’s a daily commitment!) will open the door to God’s blessing in your life.

Life’s losses leave us hurting and wondering. Cancer takes a young mother or father. Divorce strikes your happy home. Financial ruin devastates your retirement plans. A child goes to jail, is killed or commits suicide. Such times raise questions which are difficult, if not impossible to answer. We examine the circumstances again and again. We speculate about the details, searching for clues that might make some sense and make it easier for us to bear. We turn the spotlight on ourselves, others, even God, wondering what could or should have been done differently that might have prevented this. We turn to friends, fellow believers and pastors only to hear what sounds like religious platitudes and inadequate attempts to minimize our pain. When answers don’t seem forthcoming and the heavens are silent, what should you do? Here are two Scriptures to help you in such times:

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us” (Dt 29:29 NKJV). When it comes to understanding things, we have our territory, God has His. And ours is limited to what He decides to reveal. At that point you must “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Pr 3:5 NKJV).

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Ro 8:28). God may explain it to you, or He may not. But He’s “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:13 NKJV), which means, He has a plan and He’s working it out for our good and His glory. So trust Him!

When the pastor introduced the visiting speaker, an elderly preacher walked to the pulpit and told this story: “A father, his son, and his son’s friend were sailing off the Pacific coast when a storm overturned their boat sweeping all of them into the ocean. Grabbing a rescue line, in a split second the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life – which boy to throw the other end to and which one to sacrifice. He knew his son had accepted Christ and his friend hadn’t. Anguished, the father yelled, ‘I love you son,’ and threw the rope to his son’s friend. By the time he’d pulled the boy back to the capsized boat his son had disappeared beneath the waves. His body was never recovered. The father knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and couldn’t bear the thought of his friend facing eternity without Christ.” At the end of the service a teenage boy approached the old man and said, “That’s a nice story, but what father in his right mind would sacrifice his son’s life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian?” “You’ve got the point,” the old preacher replied, “It’s not realistic. But I’m standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse into what it must have been like for God to sacrifice His only Son for us. You see…I was that father, and your pastor was my son’s friend.”
The Pharisees who watched Christ die said, “He saved others; himself he cannot save.” And they were right; He couldn’t do both, so He chose to save you. Today will you accept His offer of salvation?