I’m Thankful Mirrors!

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One of the greatest reasons to live a life of THANKSGIVING is the gift of Seeing the glory of God.  Now this doesn’t mean we have to be like Moses and spend 40 days on a mountain fasting and praying to get a glimpse of the backside of the glory of God.  We live in days where His glory is evident all around if we just take time to look.

The other week I was sitting in the back of The Gospel Outreach church in a township of Masiphumelele. The 4 hour worship service was great and you could truly feel the presence of God. But as I looked over to my left I saw His shining glory mirrored in full display. She was walking down the isle bringing a young child to be seated at the front of the church. There was no halo over her head nor beams of light in her stoic face, just a powerful glory that lead me to thanksgiving for what He has done in and through her life.

She had her first child at a young age,  later would marry a man with 3 kids and have 1 of their own. When their child was 5 her husband unexpectedly past away leaving her a mother of 4 to provide for the family. All she really had was her relationship with God to bring her through this wilderness. She prayed, worshiped, read her Bible, and worked hard to bring her family through.

Patty and I would not have survived our work at Oceans Retreat Center without her. When Oceans bought the campus she came with it along with her daughter Sunny. She cooked, cleaned, helped with repairs, got up in the middle of the night standing in sewage to help us battle the flooding. She was a rock in the middle of all the storms we faced. We we spent hours with her crying out to God for miracles in our personal lives and life in South Africa.

Not long ago she faced another crisis with her oldest daughter’s family and was called by the Lord to take two of her young grandsons to live with her. She felt she needed to move back to Massi into a home she owned and raise these boys through the power of the Christ who lives in her. The other day dinner was severed at her house and what a blessing to see the grandsons become young men who are seeking to walk with Christ just like their older aunt Sunny who I predict will be president of South Africa someday.

That Sunday watching her use her gifts at church I saw God’s glory. A faithful servant, who faced impossible odds, yet who clung to her faith in a God who loved her and would bring her through.  Just like it says in 1 Cor. 3:18, she mirrors the glory of God;

“We can all draw close to Him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus, we are being transfigured into His very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

I’m thankful to the Oceans Board and all all who support Oceans Ministries for funding Thobeka to be a missionary mirror of the Father’s glory. As she mirrors His love to her family, to the church where she is the key leader, and to a community that is in desperate need to see the glory of Jesus.

This thanksgiving look around you and think about those who mirror Christ glory to you. Give thanks and ask God to fill you with His Spirit to also be a mirror in a world that needs to see Jesus.

Fighting for the Soul!

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There is nothing like a good water balloon fight!  It has turned summer here in South Africa and I got to take part in a water balloon fight on our Oceans campus with the high school students. It was an epic battle with kids and teacher’s soaked. The laughter was loud and contagious stopping people on the street to observe the duel.  But as I was talking with Bryan the principal earlier, many of these kids are suffering deeply inside. From battles at home, to peer pressure, addictions, to deep seated insecurity produced by being saturated by social media. The enemy is working overtime lobbing attack after attack at these young people.

I think many of can also identify with the constant assault of being pounded by the dark powers that are relentlessly targeting our minds and souls for defeat and destruction.

For the last few weeks I have been dwelling in the little book of Jude. I have been daily reading this 1 chapter book written by the half brother of Jesus and the message I keep getting is that we need to fight for our own souls and the souls of others like these students mentioned above.

The last few verses of Jude end with 7 commands which were given to help God’s beloved children fight for their soul and the souls of others around them.  Here is a quick summary of how we fight from vs. 20-23;

  1. Fight on the Foundation of Faith – We can only overcome by standing on the Rock Solid Promise of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel. We need to daily pick up this Sword of the Spirit and attack the “father of lies.”
  2. Fight on your Knees – as one translations puts it – “by praying every moment in the  Holy Spirit!” The battle is one in the heavenly realm as we moment by moment we breath out prayers before a mighty King who will fight on our behalf.
  3. Fight for Love – Our greatest need is to daily fasten our hearts to the love of the Father. Victory flows out of knowing His love for us and responding to that love with all our hearts.
  4. Fight from Forgiveness – We have been given mercy and forgiveness through the Cross. We are seated forever secure on the heavenly mercy seat washed in perfect blood.
  5. Fight for the Family – As we have been given mercy and forgiveness we give the same to our brothers and sisters who are struggling around us.
  6. Fight for the Lost – Called to fight for those who are lost by sharing the Gospel so that they are “snatched out of the fire.” The   Gospel expands His glory all over the earth.
  7. Fight your Flesh – Daily we need to fight the desires of the flesh that seek to pollute our soul. Daily die to self and follow in the steps of Jesus to victory.

Does the list overwhelm you? It does me. But keep reading. We don’t fight these battles alone. Let this glorious doxology bring you great courage and joy as you fight through the faith given you through Christ who lives in you. We can’t lose this fight in Him.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen!” (24-25)

So fight from the place of victory for the One in you is greater than any dark power aligned against you!

 

Can You Hear the Voice of Wisdom?

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Can you hear the voice of wisdom? Not always an easy voice to hear especially in our extremely loud culture. But the voice is always there calling out to us if we are willing to silence the other voices and listen.

A few weeks ago I hit Psalm 150 in my daily quiet time reading and normally the next day I would start all over again with Psalm 1. But something nudged me to flip over a page and start praying through the book of Proverbs.  I’ll be honest, nothing against the Proverbs but the Psalms are my happy place.

Perhaps it is the season I’m in or all that is going on in our world, but I have been so blessed by the Spirit speaking to me in this book of Wisdom. I’m trying not to rush through but rather soak in every verse and just listen. This is what I’m hearing, Wisdom is a timeless gift to receive wherever the day may bring.

Solomon, who wrote most of these poetic truths, was honored by God as he sought the gift of wisdom above all else(1 Kings 3). During his reign the kingdom grew and the people experienced a heavenly shalom. Sadly, later on Solomon turned away from the voice of wisdom and seeds of chaos were planted that eventually divided the kingdom in the next generation.

Proverbs tells us that wisdom is birthed when we come to know “the fear of the LORD,” (1:7). The Hebrew word for “fear” implies so much more than our English word. The best way I can wrap my mind around this word “fear” is to describe it as daily being consumed by the glorious beauty of God.  When I encounter His glory wisdom will be revealed. And we know the revelation of wisdom ultimately is from the lineage of Solomon: Jesus (See Isa. 11:1-2, 1 Cor. 1:30, Col. 2:3).

Encountering the glorious face of Jesus will lead to a life of surrender and obedient worship, which is a life directed by Wisdom. How thankful I am for a Sunday School teacher who had me memorize Proverbs 3:5-6.  I had no idea at the time how key that verse would be for a life guided by Wisdom.

To me this proverb means placing my life in the the faithful hands of Jesus even when life doesn’t make sense, continuing to seek after Him, and desiring to know Him with the deepest longing in my heart.  A wonderful promise follows: “He will direct my path,”  His wisdom will lead me and will lead you into His forever Kingdom of loving peace!

All the voices we continue to hear from our loud and proud world offering to fill our emptiness only lead to a banquet of pain, shame, and spiritual death. But how different the voice of Wisdom, it is a voice that brings us to a table of healing, forgiveness, hope, and an everlasting love the fills our greatest need to belong.

With all the voices yelling out to you I pray that you will listen to Wisdom.  I challenge you to put aside social media for a time and tune into the Spirit’s voice. Maybe turn to the book of Proverbs, listen to Jesus’ voice, and find the shalom you were created for.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.”

 – Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

 

 

 

Remembering our Purpose

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Written by Mike Verkaik

What do you remember from your years of middle school? This is a question I have been asking myself after returning from our third South Africa Kingdom Encounter trip with middle school students from Holland Christian. I traveled there with the principal, Tom Strikwerda, who approached me almost four years ago with the vision and desire to create lasting and faith formational memories for students during their most formidable years. I still remember our initial conversation as he lobbied for an opportunity to impact, empower and nurture the hearts of student leaders to transform each student’s circle of influence, the school and the world for Jesus Christ.

On the flight home Tom sat by each student listening to the life-changing memories we shared together as we served, worshiped, and sought after the presence of our Abba Father.

Hear the middle school memories Tom shared with staff and families:
I am thrilled to share some of the life-changing experiences we had together in South Africa. One of the most impactful individuals we met was Pastor Raymond, who leads an organization called Love in Action. Pastor Raymond cares for the needs of the impoverished in his community. From the moment we arrived, he welcomed us warmly, offering snacks and making each person feel valued. Samara expressed that Pastor Raymond didn’t feel like a stranger; his genuine love and hospitality were immediately evident. Our students had the privilege of working alongside him, preparing and serving over 700 meals for those in need. Together, we peeled pounds of carrots and potatoes and added them to the “big pot,” a large stew to nourish many. As we toured Jim Se Bos, a nearby village facing extreme poverty, our students were struck by the joy of some of the people we met. Henry noted that true joy isn’t dependent on wealth but is rooted in God. Stirring the soup

Another highlight of our week was serving at a local Care Center, where our students had the opportunity to assist teachers and spend time with the children. They were able to offer extra love and support, which brought noticeable changes in the children’s behavior. Elsa shared that although these children had difficult upbringings and some expressed frustration by throwing punches, they quickly warmed up to our students and showed such joy in playing together. Elsa formed a sweet bond with a little girl named Isla, who eventually fell asleep in her arms. Adam shared that the most challenging part of the trip was saying goodbye to the children he had grown to love, including Skye, Israel, and Procee.

We also joined three different churches for worship, each of which gave our students a fresh sense of freedom and joy in their relationship with God. Worship was vibrant, filled with singing, dancing, and heartfelt sharing. Our students even led part of the worship, singing “Firm Foundation” together. In our final service, Mason and Jada shared testimonies of gratitude, with Mason recognizing the joy these churches had despite having fewer material things than we do, and Jada was touched by their hospitality, as they welcomed us so warmly and celebrated our group just for being there.

Many of our students came away with invaluable lessons. Stellan Beebe noticed the power of teamwork, which allowed us to accomplish so much, from preparing meals to assisting at the Care Center. Ethan was in awe of God’s creation, from the tiny sea anemones in the tide pools to the penguins, lizards, whales, and other wildlife. John Steenwyk felt the Holy Spirit guiding him in his interactions with the children at the Care Center, even when it took him outside his comfort zone.

Reflecting on this journey, I am reminded of the importance of helping our young people discover their purpose through service, worship, and experiencing God’s creation. Each evening, we gathered to reflect on our “highs and lows,” and almost every “high” involved moments of serving, worshiping, or marveling at God’s world. These moments brought LOVE, JOY and PEACE to each of us. As we raise the young we need to help them navigate what their purpose is each day and give them opportunities to do what Jesus told us in Mark 12: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength… Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)