- Christ Church Kenilworth

The Eight O’Clock
News
March 2016
8 am Service, Christ Church, Kenilworth
It is the purchase of our life from perishing and the pattern of a life
of love” (What Jesus Demands from the World, 266).
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
Grace is at the heart of the Christian faith. Nowhere is this more
clearly seen than at the cross of Christ. It is grace that the Son of
God took on flesh, and grace that He taught us how to live—but it
is especially grace that He died on the cross in our place.
Since it is difficult to worship what you don’t know—here are five
biblical truths about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
1. The death of Jesus was for His enemies.
God’s love is different from natural human love. God loves us
when we’re utterly unlovable. When Jesus died, He died for the
ungodly, for sinners, and for His enemies. Paul gets at how
contrary this is to human nature when he writes, “For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good
person one would dare to die, but God shows His love for us in
that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7–8).
2. The death of Jesus purchased a people.
The death of Christ was effective in its purpose, not just to
purchase the possibility of salvation, but a people for His own
possession. Hear Jesus’s words: “All that the Father gives to Me
will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out…
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing
of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day”
(John 6:36, 39).
3. The death of Jesus is on our behalf.
Jesus’s death was substitutionary—that is, He died in our place.
He died the death that we deserved. He bore the punishment that
was justly ours. For everyone who believes in him, Christ took the
wrath of God on their behalf. Peter writes, “[Jesus] Himself bore
our sin in His body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed”
(1 Peter 2:24).
4. The death of Jesus defines love.
Jesus’s death wasn’t just an act of love, it is the ultimate example
of what love means, and Jesus calls those who follow Him to walk
in the same kind of life-laying-down love. John writes, “By this we
know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s
goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against
him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not
love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16). John
Piper explains: “Jesus’s death is both guilt-bearing and guidancegiving. It is a death that forgives sin and a death that models love.
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
5. The death of Jesus reconciles us to God.
Jesus’ death enables us to have a joy-filled relationship with God.
Paul writes, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in
mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of
flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before Him” (Colossians 1:21–22).
Five truths about the resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus is foundational to the Christian faith,so
important that Paul writes, “If Christ has not been raised, your
faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).
And later he says, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we
are of all people most to be pitied” (verse 19).
In the hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of this glorious
reality, here are five truths about the resurrection.
1) Jesus had a bodily resurrection.
When Jesus was raised from the dead, He didn’t leave His body
behind. After His resurrection His scars remained (John 20:27),
He ate fish (John 20:12), He bodily ascended to heaven (Acts
1:9), and will bodily come again (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The Son
of God will always have a bodily existence.
The fact that Jesus still has a body testifies to the dignity of the
human body—both the ones that we have and the ones we will
have after our resurrection. Matthew Lee Anderson writes, “The
resurrection of the body means that to be human with God is to
be with Him not as disembodied souls, but as people with noses,
faces, arms, and legs that are similar to those we currently
have” (Earthen Vessels, 60–61).
2) Jesus had a justifying resurrection.
Paul connects Jesus’s resurrection with His justification. He writes
in 1 Timothy 3:16, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of
godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the
Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on
in the world, taken up in glory.” The word that is translated
“vindicated” is typically translated “declared righteous” or
“justified” elsewhere in the New Testament.
As long as [Jesus] remained in a state of death, the righteous
character of His work, the efficacy of His obedience unto death
remained in question. Consequently, the eradication of death in
His resurrection is nothing less than the removal of the verdict of
condemnation and the effective affirmation of His
righteousness” (Gaffin: Resurrection and Redemption, 121–122).
3) Jesus had a Trinitarian resurrection.
The pattern in the New Testament is to speak of God the Father
as the One who does the raising, Jesus as the one who is being
raised, and the Spirit as the means the Father used to raise
Jesus. This pattern is seen in Romans 8:11: “If the Spirit of him
2
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised
Christ Jesus will also give life to your mortal bodies through His
Spirit who dwells in you.”
Here we see not only that God the Father raises Jesus through
the Holy Spirit, but our resurrection will be parallel to the
resurrection of Jesus—God the Father will raise us through the
Spirit.
4) Jesus had a firstfruits resurrection of ours to
come.
Paul describes Jesus’s resurrection as “the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Firstfruits is an
agricultural metaphor that points to the initial quality of the
harvest. Paul is saying here, the resurrection of Christ and of
believers cannot be separated since Christ’s resurrection is the
‘firstfruits’ of the resurrection ‘harvest’ that includes the
resurrection of believers: verse 23: ‘Each in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to
Christ’.
5) In Jesus, believers are already spiritually
resurrected.
The resurrection is not only a future event for believers. Those
who believe in Christ have already been raised to life with him.
Paul writes, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the
things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand
of God” (Colossians 3:1).
The resurrection is an already but not-yet reality for the
Christian because of our union with Christ. Jesus’s resurrection
means that those who have faith in Him have been raised from
the dead because they are in Christ, and yet we still await the
full experience of the resurrection to come (Romans 8:22–23).
Judaism 101
On Crown Heights, there was a Jew, Yankel, who owned a
bakery. He survived the camps. He once said, “You know why it
is that I’m alive today? I was a kid, just a teenager at the time.
We were on the train, in a boxcar, being taken to Auschwitz.
Night came and it was freezing, deathly cold, in that boxcar. The
Germans would leave the cars on the side of the tracks overnight,
sometimes for days on end without any food, and of course, no
blankets to keep us warm,” he said. “Sitting next to me was an
older Jew—this beloved elderly Jew—from my hometown I
recognized, but I had never seen him like this. He was shivering
from head to toe, and looked terrible. So I wrapped my arms
around him and began rubbing him, to warm him up. I rubbed his
arms, his legs, his face, his neck. I begged him to hang on. All
night long; I kept the man warm this way. I was tired, I was
freezing cold myself, my fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop
rubbing the heat on to this man’s body. Hours and hours went by
this way. Finally, night passed, morning came, and the sun
began to shine. There was some warmth in the cabin, and then
I looked around the car to see some of the other Jews in the car.
To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies, and all I could
hear was a deathly silence.
Nobody else in that cabin made it through the night—they died
from the frost. Only two people survived: the old man and me…
The old man survived because somebody kept him warm; I
survived because I was warming somebody else…”
Let me tell you the secret of Judaism. When you warm other
people’s hearts, you remain warm yourself. When you seek to
support, encourage and inspire others; then you discover support,
encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well. That, my
friends, is Judaism 101”.
- Sent in by Jim de Necker
- Joseph Scheuman (article shortened)
Did You Know ?
Large stained-glass windows absorb bass notes, while in a
reverberant environment the extreme treble is affected by the
atmosphere.
- Extract: Chris Molyneux’s Musings
(also for picture of piano below)
The Shape of
Things to
Come ?
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Cop Pulls Over Five Grandmas
Sitting on the side of a highway waiting for speeding motorists to
appear, a State Highway Patrol Officer spots a little car chugging
along at 22 mph. He thinks to himself, ‘This driver is just as
dangerous as a speeder’, so he pulls the car over.
As he approaches the car he notices five elderly ladies inside
(three in the back), all shaking and as white as ghosts.
The driver is confused: ‘Officer, what is the problem? I was doing
the exact speed limit.’
‘Ma’am’, the Officer replies, ‘you weren’t speeding but you must
be aware that going too slowly can also be a problem for other
drivers?’
‘Slower than the speed limit? No, Officer, I was very careful to be
exact—22 miles per hour.’ says the driver a little proudly.
Trying to contain a chuckle, the Officer explains that 22 was not a
speed limit but the Route number.
A little embarrassed, the woman grins and thanks the Officer for
pointing out her error.
‘But before I let you go, Ma’am, I have
to ask if everyone in this car is OK?
The ladies in the back seem very
shaky and they haven’t muttered a
word since you stopped.’
‘Oh, they’ll be all right in a minute,
Officer. We’ve just come off Route
119.’
- Origin unknown, sent in by Alison
Kempton Jones
From Battle to Blessing
My sudden and somewhat traumatic experience with
cancer and what it really means to trust God with all
your heart irrespective of where you will be led:
In the third week of July last year I broke out into an
itchy rash and went to see my GP who took blood tests
and soon afterwards I was in Kingsbury Hospital. After
examinations, scans and tests, I was found to have a
malignant tumour in the bile ducts of my liver and
informed that major abdominal surgery would be
needed.
Over some 6 weeks the surgeon and specialists battled
to clear the infections caused by the tumour blocking
the bile ducts and tubes and bags were inserted on
three occasions under anaesthetic. Eventually I spent
3 hours in the vascular laboratory while the radiologist
injected chemicals into my liver to kill off a large part of
the liver and so start the process of generating new
liver in preparation for surgery. This innovative
procedure comes out of Johns Hopkins University.
THIS IS WHERE THE BLESSINGS STARTED! One of
the very few surgeons in South Africa with the expertise
to conduct this particular type of surgery practices at
Kingsbury Hospital two kilometres down the road from
where we live. On 9 September at 73 years of age I
was declared fit enough for surgery and had a 7½ hour
operation to remove the tumour. This was followed by 7
days in ICU and another 3 weeks in hospital.
Regretfully my extensive wound turned septic in
hospital but I was nevertheless discharged with
instructions to attend the wound clinic. I had by this
time lost 12 kg and the pain and discomfort continued
for many weeks. I could not shower in the three months
it took the wound to heal and washing yourself daily
with a facecloth is not a lot of fun and in my state it was
exhausting.
Through all of this, there was no certainty of my survival
and at times I was very ill but I had my wife especially,
friends and family as well as many nurses, doctors,
other staff and patients caring for me and about me.
Alison Bourne visited Marlene and I often and prayed
for me. She was an amazing and welcome encourager
and also asked the 8 O’ Clockers for constant prayer
and thank you to you all as well as to people like Ev
Els, Dareth Wood and others that comforted Marlene at
services during this time.
In all of this, I came to experience the Grace and Peace
of God beyond understanding even when I was
wheeled into theatre for surgery. I learnt what it means
to trust God in His Son and by his Spirit and always feel
Their presence with me. HE HAS NEVER LEFT ME! It
has been 6 months of a difficult journey yet the lasting
“inner being “experience and testing of my faith is that I
was safe in the hands of God whatever happened. It is
very personal and on a deep level the most joyful and
peaceful experience in the midst of a crisis that I have
ever experienced with a deep understanding of “tested
faith” (John 14). I am much changed by my experience.
On 11 January 2015 I went to see the Oncologists and
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
3
had a scan and
blood tests to see
if I need further
treatment. On 19
January 2015 the
oncologists
personally
phoned me to say
that I was
“CLEAR” and
would only need
4-6 monthly
check ups. MY
joy was complete
and my wife
Marlene who had
endured so much, even more. I now know the
meaning of Psalm 100 but more so of Romans 15:13,
Proverbs 3, Galatians 6 and Philippians 2 and some
understanding of what Job felt and above all what he
concluded. I have been blessed!
- Monty Poolman
Susan’s Rescue—Helderberg Reserve
[The story behind the December story]
I was busy in my office at the Visitor Centre when Susan Mellow’s
distress call came though. Fay, the volunteer on duty at reception,
immediately ’phoned 107, the City's Emergency Centre, as
recommended by Reserve management. The Centre has radio
contact with reserve personnel, who may not be on site at the
time, and are able to contact all other emergency services as may
be required—mountain rescue, the ambulance, etc.
After gathering available information about the situation and a
contact number for the person, those on duty at the Centre set the
operation in progress and were wonderful in keeping us updated
with what was happening. Fay, for her part, handled the situation
extremely well, giving assurance where needed.
Needless to say we were all very relieved when we heard Susan
was back safely. The two hours must have seemed like an eternity
to her. We had the advantage of knowing back at base that they
were doing all they could—first to establish exactly where Susan
was and then to take whatever action was required.
As Susan's rescue was the second such incident in a couple of
weeks, Owen Wittridge, Reserve Manager included some safety
guidelines in his regular letter published in the November Friends
Newsletter. He urged would-be hikers and walkers to
* Take a jacket along on all walks irrespective of the heat. The
weather can change very quickly and some walkers have
experienced difficulty.
* Carry an extra water bottle along too. The Reserve is very dry
and water is not readily available even in Disa Gorge.
* Stick to the designated paths and trails.
* Do not walk alone. In an emergency, others can assist with
contacting emergency services—and provide moral support.
* Advise family or friends where you are going and when to expect
you back. Never underestimate the dangers that can arise from
walking alone.
* Save the City’s Emergency Services contact numbers on your
’phones—021 480 7700 from a cell phone; 107 from a landline.
- Mary Birch
[NB: Applies to all mountains]
Stained Glass
The community life of the 8 am
service is enhanced as we read
about the lives of one another in the
News. Recently June Martin and
Ann MacMillan were featured—they
are two thirds of the trio from
Pinelands Village who worship with
us each Sunday sitting on the left side of the church near the front.
The other third is Elizabeth van Lingen. It was my privilege to
spend some time with Elizabeth recently and hear about her
interesting life which made me think of a stained glass window of
many different and beautiful colours.
Elizabeth was born into an English-speaking Christian family who
lived in the Karoo and worshipped in the local Dutch Reformed
Church where she was baptised. Belief in God was as natural as
breathing for Elizabeth. But while a boarder at high school in
Grahamstown, a missionary from Iona preached and her heart was
touched. On her own she made a quiet, personal commitment to
the Lord Jesus Christ. This commitment deepened her faith.
Life moved on and after completing a secretarial course in Cape
Town, Elizabeth followed a romantic interest to Rhodesia
(Zimbabwe) but her parents arranged for her to stay with her aunt
in Bulawayo although her boyfriend was in Salisbury (Harare). (We
wondered if any parent could successfully insist on such an
arrangement in 2016!) Illness, however, intervened when
Elizabeth was diagnosed with TB. Her mother fetched her and
took her home to Middelburg. Over a two-year period, nine months
of which was extremely strict bed rest, Elizabeth was cared for and
nursed by her mother until she recovered completely.
A return to Zimbabwe happened, this time to Harare, and life took
another direction. The romance ended and very interesting work as
private secretary to the Minister of the Southern Rhodesian
Treasury proved to be a most fulfilling job.
Regular Sunday worship, daily Bible reading and prayer were
features of life for Elizabeth even though her church affiliations
changed. From an uncomfortable experience in the DRC Sunday
School at boarding school in Grahamstown she settled happily into
the Presbyterian Church which remained her spiritual home until
she met and married John Nicks, who was a man of great faith and
a committed Anglican and Elizabeth was confirmed in the Anglican
Church.
John and Elizabeth settled in a suburb of Salisbury and were both
very active in the local church. They had two boys, Simon and
Jolyon. Being a mother and housewife in Zimbabwe at that time
was relaxed because of the help of servants and as Elizabeth
wanted to use her time constructively, she took private lessons and
achieved a Licentiate from Trinity College, London, as a Speech &
Drama teacher. This led to adjudicating at public speaking contests
and teaching. At the same time her spiritual life was developing
through the ministry of various church leaders, the charismatic
movement in her church, attending Bible Studies and doing a
course run by Africa Enterprise called “Discipline & Discovery”.
She became more aware of the person of the Holy Spirit, prayer
times became more meaningful and reading the Bible became an
exciting way to hear God speak to her personally.
And then there was a watershed experience! In spite of a fulfilling
life in which her gifts and skills were being used, Elizabeth often felt
inadequate and nervous. To help her when in “up front” situations
her Doctor recommended a mild anxiety suppressant to be taken
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
4
when necessary. On one occasion when Elizabeth was praying
about a really difficult situation she was facing, she sensed God
calling her to put her trust completely in Him and to forego this mild
medication. Although very conscious of tension, she obeyed this
call, didn’t take the medication and, Praise the Lord, handled the
situation surprisingly well. She has never taken a tranquillizer
again. From then Elizabeth found that her enemies of fear and
anxiety were largely overcome and also, her emotions—which
tended to be quite tempestuous—were under better control. This
experiential knowledge of the power of The Holy Spirit was and still
is a source of great strength to her.
In 1982, her sons were students at UCT when her husband died
most unexpectedly leaving a vast gap in Elizabeth’s life. She
decided to return to South Africa and, in particular, to Middelburg
where she settled into Karoo life and found her niche in
St Barnabas Anglican Church. Here too Elizabeth recalls with
great thankfulness the ministry of various church leaders. Through
them she was challenged about fellowship, prayer and church unity
and was drawn into serving the Lord in many ways including being
licensed as a Lay Minister to preach and take funerals. A favourite
task was establishing the St Barnabas Parish Magazine aptly
named, “The Encourager”.
And then another John came into Elizabeth’s life. He was a farmer
in the area and they decided to marry. Although her husband was
not a committed churchgoer he was delighted for her to continue
her Christian involvements. As she signed the register at their
wedding, from being a mother with two sons, overnight Elizabeth
acquired six new children, five of them married, and nine
grandchildren. At the stroke of a pen her family had grown from
three to 24! She now had a HUGE family and had to adapt to a
new way of living. After being the only woman in the family, she
now had five daughters and a daughter-in-law. Happily, good
relationships developed between Elizabeth and her step-family
and, although John has died, these relationships are successfully
maintained. Now, with nine grandchildren married and 10 greatgrandchildren, the family numbers 51, with two babies expected
during this year. No family, however, is without its deep sorrow,
and in 2005 John’s daughter, Gill, succumbed to cancer; John
himself died in 2008—also cancer; and then, just two years ago
granddaughter, Sarah Stuart, tragically died of aplastic anaemia,
leaving her husband and two baby boys. The beautiful memorial
service was held at Christ Church.
When Elizabeth moved back to Middelburg in 1983, although
church life was active, there was very little connection between the
churches. For example: although three churches combined for a
service on the Women’s World Day of Prayer, three other churches
held separate services; a bi-annual Flower Festival was held
alternately in the Anglican and Methodist churches but no other
churches were involved.
This “separateness” became a concern to the Anglican Women’s
Association of which Elizabeth was a member and led them to
invite women to an Interdenominational Luncheon. Eventually, as
women gradually got to know one another, a combined WWD of P
service, hosted by a different church each year, became the
pattern in Middelburg. The Flower Festival too became an annual
event, hosted in a different church each year and a great spirit of
koinonia developed between the women of the town. This was
underpinned by an Interdenominational Prayer Group, The
Esthers, which came into being.
Elizabeth has heady and joyful memories of that time, not only
because of the inter-church unity expressed but also because the
Flower Festival developed a more spiritual focus. She rejoices in
the memory of piano music quietly played during the festival giving
5
way, during the lunch hour, to a worship service—a festival of
spiritual readings, poems, songs and a meaningful message by
the minister.
In a small town one learns to fill the gaps! When the excellent
organist/pianist of St Barnabas retired to Port Elizabeth, the
congregation was bereft and struggled to sing the hymns so
Elizabeth took refresher piano lessons and led the singing,
even producing a carol concert one Christmas before an
accomplished musician settled in the district and was able to
take over.
Elizabeth’s younger son, Jolyon, lives near London with his
wife, Gailynn. Their younger daughter, Leonie, is also in
England, while Amy, is married to Tom and they live in Sydney.
Elizabeth’s elder son, Simon, with his wife, Charmaine, and
their three daughters, Angela, Catherine and Samantha, live in
Cape Town. So, after John’s death, Elizabeth aged 76, made
another major move and came to live in Cape Town. Many
Middelburg connections—Revd Lawrie Wilmot, Christine and
Mick Milligan (who used to farm in the district), Bishop Bruce
and Joan Evans—and the fact that Simon and Charmaine were
married here, drew Elizabeth to Christ Church where she had,
in fact, worshipped whenever visiting Cape Town. She moved
into Pinewood Village and joined the 8 am congregation. And
then she looked for things to do as “I feel strongly that to have
a sense of belonging one must have involvements in church
life”. She joined the 8 am Breakfast Team, the Tuesday
morning Bible Study group, the Reading Roster and, later,
agreed to be a Lay Minister. After two years she took over the
leadership of the Bible Study Group from Melissa Sutherland.
She has laid aside these responsibilities as “I am moving on in
years and younger people are needed” but remains on the
Readers’ Roster. The Bible Study group is now led by Verna
Baguley who hosts it in her home while Elizabeth, still a
member, relaxes into “the autumn of my life”.
Not that this autumn is without action but it is different.
Elizabeth has heard God call her out of busy church-related
activities and into a space of gentle activity. She is sorting
through her large collection of gems—poems, quotes, journal
entries, meditations etc. and is putting the best of them into a
book complete with illustrations and reflections. The book is
called Autumn Harvest and will give a taste of her life and
spiritual journey for her children and grandchildren to enjoy.
Two passions of Elizabeth’s life are church unity and prayer.
About church unity she quotes: “Unity is expressed by
believing in deity and humanity, practising holiness, truth and
mission”. About prayer she says: “I don’t believe I could have
grown in faith without a regular, daily,
early morning practice of prayer”.
Hearing of Elizabeth’s life gave me a deep
appreciation of how blessed it is to live life
in step with God’s rhythm, to rejoice in the
gifts we are given, to be ready to serve
and to be prepared to change direction
when guided by the Holy Spirit. All the
facets of Elizabeth’s life do form a glorious
whole as in a beautiful stained glass
window. We praise God for her and her
fellowship with us.
- Denise Wood
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Inventions by Women
1) The electric
refrigerator was invented by
Florence Parpart in 1914.
2) Ada Lovelace (R) is
essentially the first
computer programmer due
to her work with Charles
Babbage at the University of
London in 1842. Her notes
were an essential key to
helping Alan Turing’s work
on the first modern
computers in the 1940s.
3) Solar heating for residential
housing was invented by
Dr Maria Telkes (L) in 1947.
Dr. Telkes was also a
Psychiatrist.
4) Marie Van Brittan Brown (R)
invented CCTV because of the
slow response of police officers
in
1969 to help people ensure their own
security. This invention influenced
modern CCTV systems used for
home security and police work today.
5) Hedy Lamarr (L), a world famous
film star, invented a secret
communications system during World
War II for radio-controlling
torpedoes.
This Technology also paved the way
for everything from Wi-Fi to GPS.
- Sent in by Alison Kempton Jones
6
100 Years and Counting…
Lorna Thompson celebrates her centenary at the Wednesday service,
flanked by Mike Keggie and Rob Taylor.
[Photograph courtesy of Alison Bourne]
A Hare-Raising Wedding
Fiona Hare married Andrew Black on 6 February at
Monkey Valley, Noordhoek. Proud Papa Willie and
Proud Mama Margie were on hand to enjoy the
celebration.
Fi’s dress
had antique
(pre-1880)
lace from
Willie’s
family,
some of
which was
part of
Margie’s
veil when
they were
married
in 1975!
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
7
Another Year
Wherever You lead
I’ll follow.
Whatever the New Year brings,
Teach me Lord to trust You
Your praises, Lord, to sing.
The pathway may be rough
Thorny bushes on the way,
However, Lord, You’re with me
Every moment of the day.
So I put my hand in Yours
I trust You through the storm,
Your Presence ever with me,
Whether rough or whether calm.
I need not fear the morrow
When You are by my side,
My blessed Lord and Saviour
In Your shadow would I hide.
Renovation of the Heart
by Dallas Willard
- Judy Jenkins
[Mattew 14 v 22]
John Ortberg wrote a book called Soul-Keeping which
is seen by some as a tribute to the Christian writer,
Dallas Willard. This inspired me to read a book by
Willard which I hadn't yet done. So I'm reading,
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of
Christ. Though it is a slow read, I am very greatful for
this opportunity. I don't think it's necessary to read the
whole book at once—it is a book you can open where
you left off and carry on reading meditatively.
Self-help books are everywhere—there are Christian
self-help books too, some of which are a bit dodgy.
They promise to make you the person you want to be
which turn out to be hollow promises. So when
Willard spoke about the development of the Christian
mind,
I was interested as his writing is well
respected.
He suggests that as Christians we try to change our
actions to be more in line with Christ, but it is our
hearts we need to change first and then bring our
behaviour into line with our hearts. We do this by
changing our thoughts. As superior beings in creation
we are able to a certain degree to control our
thoughts. And Willard guides us as we try. Our
thoughts are part of our inner world which, Dallas
says, is what we keep when we die. And as our
thoughts draw near to God, our behaviour reflects His
too—a wonderful process of which to be part.
- Theresa Keay
(Resource Centre Librarian)
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Lynx
Babies
Last year
Cheryl
Anderson’s
niece (who
farms in
Graaff
Reinet)
found two
abandoned
babies (above).
Sadly, one
died but the
other has
grown up to
be a very
happy and
beautiful
house-cat.
8
The Joy Seed
A seek of joy lay waiting
In the deep soil of my soul.
Nurtured by God’s living stream
And compost of His love.
The warmth of spring prepared the earth
And seeds of joy swelled up, gave birth
A human voice responded, ‘yes’,
Welcome new joy, come out and bless.
New joy came,
Surging, emerging,
Glowing, flowing,
Smiling, singing,
Skipping, dancing,
Love enhancing,
Joyful sharing,
Jesus blessing,
Great rejoicing,
Thank You,
Thank You,
Lord.
Helping Dad to Pray
– Helen Myburgh
God’s Palms
See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.
Isaiah 49:16
What matters supremely is not the fact that I know
God but the larger fact that underlies it—the fact that
He knows me. I am graven on the palms of His
hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge
of Him depends on His sustained initiative in
knowing me. I know Him because He first knew me
and continues to know me.
He knows me as a friend, one who loves me. There is
no moment when His eye is off me or His attention
distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when
His care falters. This is momentous knowledge.
There is unspeakable comfort—the sort of comfort
that energizes, not enervates—in knowing that God is
constantly taking knowledge of me in love and
watching over me for my good.
Reflect: What comfort do you take from knowing this?
- JI Packer: Knowing God through the year
Editorial Team
Tel.
e-mail
March 2016 Eight O’Clock News
Ev Els
021 696 0336
[email protected]
Cheryl Anderson
083 272 1530
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