Another year, another Bitter-sweat life?
So how was your New Year? Really! Much the same as the last? Did you know that this past Monday (Jan 21) is rated as the most depressing day of the year? This week I heard someone sing at church the following line: “woe, woe, praise the Lord”! What a great expression about the paradoxical life we live. Just like the letter I show here today. So write to me. Let me know your “woe, woe, praise the Lord”. Yirat Adonai ([email protected])
miracles today?
Shalom Mordecai. I trust you are well rested and feeling a tad more cheerful? You exited 2007 on rather a melancholy note. Trying to communicate with a mysterious person is daunting enough, yet it does encourage me to step out of our comfort zones and confront some of God's unfathomable ways. The present political climate, for instance, makes scant sense to most, all that posturing and promising that goes on...makes one want to join those ostriches who find it simpler to stick their heads in the sand. But WHO are we putting our faith in? Mbeki? Zuma? Jesus? Mordi, do you believe in miracles? I do. A friend told me recently that she was completely healed of breast cancer two years ago. No sign of it. Gone. However, her close friend, a committed believer, has just died from the same disease. Did one have greater faith than the other? I think not. It is confusing nevertheless, but God is Sovereign over ever detail of our lives. He also commissioned us to ' lay hands on the sick ' and to pray for their healing so best we heed what He tells us to do and not try to work it out. We just complicate matters when we demand answers that do not tie in with His plans. All He asks is that we trust Him. Our family and some friends have been on the receiving end of Divine intervention a few times lately. One of our sons miraculously survived a quad bike accident in December. He hit a pole at full throttle and injured his leg pretty badly. It looked horribly and was at a most peculiar angle, all bent with his foot facing upwards and outwards. He was in agony. Before being carted off to the local hospital the grandchildren and I had an opportunity to lay hands on him and spent a few very tense minutes travailing on his behalf, asking the Lord to supernaturally straighten out the leg and to heal it as quickly as possible. Four young children speaking directly to Jesus, with absolute conviction that He would step in and perform the miracle, it was something I will never forget. Two hours later we got a call to say the leg was almost back to normal and he could return to the farm and enjoy the rest of the weekend! Other than a small gash and some bruising there was no evidence of the mangled wreck we had seen. In no time at all he was walking normally. The children were especially ecstatic but not remotely surprised that their prayers had ' worked.' Their expression! A distant relative almost died as a result of serious inflammation of the pancreas, but the Lord stepped in. He also healed a six month old baby boy diagnosed with meningitis. The family was desperate and expected him to die. However, God heard their cries and used the highly skilled doctors and nurses to save the child’s life. Some people just don't want to live and the mind is a massive battlefield where the enemy stands ready to strike. Thankfully, the Lord has supplied weapons of warfare that we need to take up daily. We must be vigilant in prayer, not only for ourselves and our loved ones but for those thousands of people you mentioned in your last letter. Mordecai, I believe we are living in extremely dangerous yet exciting times. St. Barnabas has a crucial role to play in the City of Cape Town. It’s thrilling to see so those who are prepared to take risks and venture out into new territories. I hear groups are even braving the Mountain and embarking on ' fellowship ' walks? Who knows what light they can bring into dark corners?