A Slice of Life

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Written by Patty Spykstra

It is hard to believe that Tim and I relocated to South Africa in January 2020. I must admit that missions for us isn’t quite the same as my childhood recollections, and I like to think that we are all called to be missionaries and reflect Christ in our work places, neighborhood and every day life. Years ago good old-fashioned mail and an expensive international phone call were the mode of communication and now we have Wi-Fi and cell phones. Yes, here we are in South Africa residing in a one bedroom, one bathroom “flat” or apartment, which reminds us of when we were first married. Each day at the Retreat Center is unpredictable and we have literally met people from all over the world and from all different backgrounds and upbringings.

Doing life and ministry in a country that at times seems so progressive and then we are reminded that things are not what we are used to with load shedding (power outages) and the sewer bubbling up unto the property to cause flooding on campus. However, these annoyances do not compare to life a few kilometers away where there is a drastic contrast. In these nearby townships a whole other world exists- with tin shack after tin shack-most without plumbing or electricity. Since I don’t write the blog often and I could potentially have a whole lot to share, so I decided to “give a slice of life” about the gathering of believers in the different communities we have joined in worship on a regular basis. Tim has had opportunity to preach in each of these churches, sometimes with advance notice and other times he is invited to speak when we arrive at the service.

First off, we love that we can worship outdoors on the property of Oceanview Care Centre under a covered patio. Pastor Raymond his wife Pamela lead this church, some familiar faces are here with Bernie, the director, and a couple of other teachers, as well Isabella. Pastor Raymond and the elders have a HUGE heart to teach the Word of God, sing, worship, give, and encourage. You can often hear Pastor Raymond reminding the group of mostly women and children that they are not victims but victors! The services are in English but a few phrases in Afrikaans always seem to slip in, the group is primarily Coloured-the title they like to be called. There is always much laughter, joy and a few tears in the midst of the service. Pastor Raymond and Pamela also oversee a team who feed hundreds of people in nearby townships experiencing much poverty and they are also heading up a crèche or preschool.

The other church we attend is in Masiphumelele and primarily a Xhosa speaking congregation. This is where our “retreat-mates” Thobeka and her daughter Sunny attend. At this service men and women sit on opposite sides of the aisle, there are always testimonies in either word or song and this group is kind enough to hold their service in English when we attend. We love when prayer time happens as each people group speaks out loud in their own native tongue. When Oceans’ Kingdom Encounter students visit this church each person is encouraged to share a song or testimony as well. This church currently meets in a small house of sorts with the hopes to make it more of a structure conducive for a larger gathering.

Within walking distance here in Fish Hoek we also attend a local church with a more typical building, however the chairs are the white stackable outdoor ones. This church is most like what we are accustomed to with a praise team, youth group, children’s ministry, and nursery. Here we are blessed to interact with a multitude of people from varying places and cultures. There are 13 official languages in South Africa and many are represented in this congregation. The prayer group is what got us first visiting this church and we later found out that the pastor and family lived just up the street. A genuine friendship has developed with Pastor Ryan and Tammy and we welcome our times of sharing over a cup of coffee and an almond croissant. The groups from the US may not stay long enough to attend a Sunday service, but always join in one or two Monday nights of praise and prayer. The visiting students will always say this is a highlight of the Kingdom Encounter.

We are blessed to worship together with these 3 groups of believers here in the Fish Hoek Valley. We are grateful to support and encourage each of the pastors, their families and congregations in different ways whether that be providing food, a get away at Oceans Retreat Center, funds for building improvements or bringing teams from the US to encourage them in person. In the midst of our language differences, in the midst of our different styles and ways of worship, TOGETHER we focus on praising and honoring the King of Kings who IS in control of all things! This unity is what the unbelieving world needs to see! This is the body of Christ.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35

Preparing for Home

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Last week we received the sobering news from my mom that their good friends were killed in a traffic accident. The four of them had just spent the week traveling around Colorado having a wonderful time together. The two couples parted ways and a few days later found out that their dear friends lost their lives when another car hit them.

John and Paula were Jesus people. They loved sharing about their Savior and living for Him. Their lives bubbled over with a love and joy for life, which flowed from the throne of Heaven.

As Patty and I received the news of this difficult loss we thought about what their reception must been like that moment in heaven. I’m sure the welcome party was big as they were saturated with hugs of perfected love and hearing their Father say, “well done good and faithful servants, welcome home my beloved children.”

For me when I hear of an unexpected loss like this it makes me think of how quickly our time on this earth can end. It makes me search my own soul and ask am I prepared for my homecoming? Have I lived in such a way that I can be confident and even excited for that coming day?

One of the questions I envision Jesus asking me is this; “Did you love Me?” Now He already knows the answer to the question, but it’s for me to uncover what is in my heart. Just like He asked Peter 3 times before he ascended to heaven:

“Simon, son of Jonah, do you burn with love for Me more than these?” (Jn. 21:15).

Heaven is a place of pure love, God is defined as “love”, and when Jesus was asked what was the greatest of all commandments He stated;

“Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.” (Mt. 22:37).

 My greatest preparation for entering in Father’s house is to wrestle with the 1st and greatest commandment. Is being in an intimate love relationship with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit priority in my life? Does my heart “burn with love” for Him more than my family, ministry, the stuff of this world?

I know I’m saved by grace through faith and there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation but to trust in the gift of love giving to me at the cross (Eph. 2:8-9). But it is that unconditional love from the Father through Jesus’ perfect sacrifice forgiving all my sins that should warm my affections red hot.

The greatest preparation for my homecoming is to make the 1st Commandment my greatest passion in life. When I feel my heart growing cold or losing my first love I know something is getting in the way of my love relationship. I can get too busy doing ministry, too distracted by the world, harbor anger or bitterness, or have a sin in my life that strangles my soul.

I’m reminded by the sudden home coming of John and Paula that the #1  thing I need to do to prepare my heart for heaven is to be love sick. To have intimacy with the Loving Father the priority of my life. To daily dwell with Him in worship, Hear from in in His Word, and share my heart with Him in constant prayer. This opens up the door of heaven for the Holy Spirit to come and pour out His love so that I can love Him more and long for eternity with Him.

In these days filled with uncertainty, the questions is set before us, “Do you love Him?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Breathe – Exhale

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Praise the Lord for video calling! The other day our daughter called us from Colorado and turned her phone to our grandson who has figured out how to make some new sounds other than crying for food or to be held. Both of our hearts melted wanting to jump through the screen and give him a big hug. Crazy what a few babbles will do to grandparents hearts.

As I was pondering the joys of hearing my grandson from across the Atlantic Ocean I thought about the Father’s joy when we exhale our voices to Him in prayer. Like a baby at times it may be an unintelligent babble, grunts or groans (Romans 8:26), but He is thrilled by the fact that we acknowledge our need for Him through prayer.

One of the greatest signs that we believe in God is taking time to talk with Him as a Father and as a friend. If you look at all the heroes of faith; Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, the prophets, and the apostles all had an intimate relationship with the Father. Jesus, is the greatest example, as He would often slip away to commune with His Abba in prayer as this was the source of His existence (Mark 1:35).

Last week I shared about the importance of spiritual breathing and how we must first inhale the Word of God. On a daily basis we need to tune into the Father’s voice through a meditative reading of His life giving breath, found in 66 inspired books of the Bible.

However we are not only called to inhale the Word, but also exhale the promises from the Father back to Him. If we just inhale without the exhaling we will spiritually die. Spiritually breathing keeps the heart healthy and alive. A constant rhythm of both is necessary.

In last week’s blog I shared how at the start of my day I inhale a Psalm. To slowly breathe in the Scripture until I hear the voice of the Spirit speak to me through it. As I hear Father’s voice in His Word, I respond by taking out my journal and write a prayer back to Him. Sometimes it leads me to spend most of my time in prayer and thanksgiving. At other times the conviction of sin is heavy and I write out my sins before Him asking for the blood of Jesus to forgive me and create in me a clean heart.

There is something powerful about praying the promise of the Father’s Word back to Him or even singing them. My parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and great-greats used to sing the Psalms every Sunday at church and even in their homes. The older I get I see the amazing benefits of how that helped them spiritually breathe and made them strong in the midst of trying days.

As our days grow more challenging we are called to be a family of believers that thrive by spiritually breathing in and out the Word of God. If God’s children “Just Breath” deeply inhaling and exhaling, we will reflect the glorious breath of God that can bring abundant life to a suffocating world.

This Sunday we witnessed the Word of God in power and many inhaled it touching the deepest hurts in their heart. Many responded by coming forward breathing out childlike prayers, many with groans and tears and their Father in heaven rejoiced by sending the life-breath of His Spirit bringing healing and joy!

Remember, Just Breathe!!!

 

Just Breathe- Inhale

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Trying to stay warm on a blistery wet winter day in South Africa, Patty and I covered ourselves with blankets, consumed hot coffee, and distracted our minds with good books. Patty was reading about the importance of correct breathing for your health and wanted me to practice with her. I paused my reading and gave it a try. A deep Inhale through your nose and exhale through pursed lips, repeating this 3 to 10 times. The goal was to relax the body from stress and help me sleep.

Ironically in my current book, I just finished a chapter entitled “Breathe” highlighting spiritual breathing. The author talked about the vital necessity of followers of Christ to daily inhale the Word of God and exhale prayer. After practicing the breathing exercise  and my recent reading and I found myself reflecting on spiritual breathing and the fact that the Holy Spirit uses the Word and Prayer to oxygenate our spiritual lungs.

Just as we need to inhale and exhale to live so too with the Word and Prayer, both work together imparting spiritual oxygen for us to thrive spiritually. Today’s focus is on the importance of daily inhaling the precious Word of God and next week I will touch the how prayer is spiritual exhaling.

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is start the coffee. I know-perhaps I have a problem. But for me sipping a hot mug of coffee with a jolt of caffeine helps shift my brain into gear. As I sit in my favorite spot keeping the coffee close I pick up my Bible and INHALE my Psalm for the day. For me reading a Psalm opens my mouth to breathe in the spiritual oxygen needed to start my day. If I miss this sacred time I can sense it throughout the rest of the day.

Please note, this is not meant to be a legalistic practice that I must do to receive a star on my chart or to persuade the Father to love me more. I just really need His voice to get my heart filled with the breath of heaven to prepare me for the day. The Father’s voice must be the first one I hear before all the other voices begin to make noise.

As I listen for His voice in the Psalms I always look for Jesus His gift of saving love. From Genesis to Revelation we have this Good News, that the Father has had a plan before the creation of the world to show us the full extent of His love through His very own Son Jesus. Every Word in the Old Testament points to Jesus and in the New Testament the Word becomes flesh and we see in Jesus the perfect love of the Father for His lost sons and daughters (See John 1:1-18).

Today more than ever we need to breathe in the Good News of the gift of Jesus Christ. The Word from Abba Father who tells us we are forgiven, we are healed, we are son’s and daughters of His Kingdom, and we are completely and forever loved through the life, death, resurrection and reign of Jesus Christ.

I challenge you to take time today to breathe in the Word of love to you from your Good, Good Father!

“Remember what you were taught from your childhood from the Holy Scrolls which can impart to you wisdom to experience everlasting life through the faith of Jesus, the Anointed One! God has transmitted His very substance into every Scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17 TPT

 

 

“Come into My Heart”

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Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that won’t go away? For the past week I keep singing over and over a song I learned years ago in Sunday school:

“Come into my heart, come into to my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus, come in today come in to stay come into my heart Lord Jesus..”

Do you remember that song? What prompted me to think about it and sing my own version of it was meditating on Matthew 11:28-29:

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.”

This verse it is about Jesus inviting us into His heart. A heart that is “gentle and humble,” a heart like no other, the only heart in all the world that can give us true rest.

Recently I finished a book for the second time called “Gentle and Lowly,” by Dane Ortlund. The book is centered on Matthew 11: 28-29 and highlights the heart of Jesus. In this powerful book Ortlund, states that “this is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus describes His heart.” His heart is full of mercy and grace, His heart continually calls us to come and experience a healing, forgiving home of love.

The enemy will do all in his power to keep us from the heart of Jesus. His lies include: you are not worthy, you’re too sinful, you have blown it way too many times. Too often we listen to these lies and run elsewhere to find relief from our guilt and shame. The problem is all the things we run to never give us peace and rest. There is not enough money, drugs, sex, pleasure, entertainment, relationships, political power etc. that can satisfy our heart’s deepest longings.

At this very moment Jesus calls out to us in the midst of all our brokenness, failures, weakness, and the shame of our darkest secrets and says come to My heart full of mercy and grace. It is like He is standing in front of a cozy home inviting you in out of a raging storm where you are dirty from slushing through the mud and muck. Jesus offers a warm shower, fresh cloths, and the best chicken noodle soup you ever tasted. And this greatest gift is unconditional love which He freely lavishes upon you. No judgment, no shame, just a forgiving heart that will never let you go.

How we need to encounter His heart. Why would we choose to stay outside striving to find relief in life’s storms and wallow in the mud and muck starving for true love. Listen again to His glorious invitation to you to come to His glorious loving heart.

So I took the song above and begun to sing it as if Jesus was singing it to me:

“Tim, come into My heart, come into My heart, come in today, come in and stay, Tim come into My heart, your friend the Lord Jesus!”

Listen to Jesus sing this song to you, don’t wait outside any longer, run, walk, crawl if you must, but come, come into His heart today.