Art; creativity; industry; pieces; youth; passion; destiny

A young treasured friend in my life, having completed her pre-med studies in Edinburgh with excellent results ...
read more »]]> 5^th September 2011

Art; creativity; industry; pieces; youth; passion; destiny

A young treasured friend in my life, having completed her pre-med studies in Edinburgh with excellent results is busy preparing for acceptance in her studies as a surgeon. She was asked the other day, why would she want to be a surgeon. How she answered this question would essentially determine whether she becomes part of the small handful of invited applicants among the many who ask to be accepted into the college of surgeons. Her reply was simply that to her, surgery is the ultimate form of art – she could think of no more creative thing to do than to piece together the human body.

John Ruskin, the 19^th century British art critic and writer, in his Lectures on Art, wrote, “Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality”.

This quote has particularly struck me as I have contemplated the mechanics of what it takes to prepare people for their destinies.

Here is a thought: If we see our children doing three things, first, working hard, and second, doing what they love. Third, working in their primary gift, we would surely think ourselves exceedingly blessed.

What makes the hours and years tedious is not the hours and hours of sacrificial application that a person does to achieve success in their work, but the awful sense that they are not doing what they love. By contrast, those who find what they love, care not if it achieves monetary success, or public acceptance, but only that their craft; their love; their talent; their jealous affection for what they do, would be given life; would be formed; would be taken to the point of their utmost ability. This includes self-doubt, and fear of failure. This involves true grit as they stay bent over their tool or operating tables; their desks; their instruments; their easels; their pages, sometimes for months; years or even decades. What keeps them going in the most difficult moments is the knowledge that if they do not do what they were gifted to do, that something would be missing. They do not need to rediscover their gift every day, or be convinced of it – they know it even in its unformed state. They have faith in it above all else. This is passion. A person, who finds their passion, finds the industry to apply it.

As parents we should be careful not to try to mould our children into our past filters of what success is. It takes courage to say, “I do not know, what do you think?” It takes much more courage to say, “Look not for what you earn, ahead of what you yearn for!”

Renoir (with arthritis) wrote, "The pain passes, but the beauty remains"

Again as parents, we see! Perhaps however also, we should ask God to help us to see them as he sees!

From the time my young friend was small, she would try to meticulously draw a hundred pictures carefully into one square inch. Minutiae fascinated her, and still does, only now it has been ‘cultivated’, and we will all soon see the fuller fruit of her passion. Less careful parenting may have scoffed at such youthful, and seemingly pointless industry, but ‘careful eyes’ jealously watch over such things, for right there is artistry; excellence, and destiny in the making!

My precious youngest child, who is presently completing an Arts degree in Trinity Western University, BC, would sit for hours in the car in the dark drawing her pictures, as we travelled long distances at night. She would periodically say to me, “Daddy, can you switch the light on for a moment, I want to see what I have drawn”.

With pride today, we should think of what were we facilitating in her by not imposing our view of her efforts on her?

In October 1999, my father passed into heaven as a believer. My visit to the island of Mauritius where I was born, and where he lived, was punctuated by a cataclysmic moment – As I scrimmaged through his desk I stumbled on a small black notebook where he had written his last words in French the day before his death. They were, “we discover always too late that the marvel is in each and every moment”!

These words have deeply affected my life, and compelled me to articulate more clearly and with greater passion the gifts given to me.

In closing, my thoughts go to our children who will shape the future. May we each actively engage the process where they will find their various passions! I am reminded of three striking words spoken by William Blake written in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”. He said, “EXUBERANCE IS BEAUTY”

Keep on. Loys

PS: Tarryn and Olivia, I love you. This ‘piece’ is dedicated to your love of your craft!

“O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success” – Psalm 118:25

Have we somewhere confused the measure of success with power; appearance; possessions; ...
read more »]]> 5^th September 2011

“O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success” – Psalm 118:25

Have we somewhere confused the measure of success with power; appearance; possessions; position, and the control that can be exerted over things, or even, God forbid, over others?

We might consider rather for one moment what the scriptures teach about success.

We should agree that only those whom God finds are truly successful irrespective of their circumstances.

They are the blessed of God!

Some Old Testament examples shed some light on what God considers success:

David was successful in all he did because the Lord was with him. But we should add that for the next ten years he was hounded like a dog while Saul’s hatred for him became the anvil that prepared him as leader of Israel, and as its favored king (1 Samuel 18:14).

Joseph was highly favored also and successful in whatever he did in an Egyptian prison, but it says very little of how difficult it was to live in “that pit” for fourteen years while he waited to be released (Genesis 39:23).

In the same fashion, all of God’s emissaries, though most endured much difficulty, walked in the same blessing from God that eventually overcame all the obstacles thrown in their way by either people or circumstance. For instance, those who rejected Jephthah as a bastard eventually begged that he would lead them; those who hounded Moses out of Egypt were confounded by God’s miraculous favor over him 40 years later; those who threw Jeremiah into a pit, ultimately faced the truth of what he prophesied; those who sought to harm the prophet Elisha paid for their foolishness with their lives!

Did Zechariah not prophesy of the day when men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of one who belongs to God, saying, ‘let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you’ (8:23)? Did God then not say about his people, “Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that no one shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them” (9:8)?

The scriptures give an outstanding account of how a good man is made into a great man. The forty-two chapters of the book of Job, which contain some of the most painful experiences a family, can bear, including the death of ten siblings, are summated with the pronunciation that he had been doubly blessed (Job 42).

However, few today would stop to inquire why this process was necessary.

Paul defines Christian success in this way: he says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” – 2 Timothy 3:12

Similarly, Jesus introduces God’s measure of success at the Sermon on the Mount as follows:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:3-14)

William Blake in "The marriage of heaven and hell", wrote: Exuberance is Beauty

There is great value when people are humbled, and brought to their knees to question their choices; their lifestyles; and the way in with they have comported themselves before others. As Job did, they too might say, “Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me” (6:13)? Job did not ‘lose’ success, but only what he had thought was ‘successful’!

The time has come for a radical honesty; for radical adjustments, and for those who see the impending troubles of a ‘success driven’ western world, to be strong in their commitments – to walk faithfully in the particular way chosen for them. If they are a ‘Joseph’, they ought not to despair of the ‘jail’ they are in; if they are a ‘David’, they ought not defend themselves; if they are a ‘Job’, they ought not to give up their faith in God; if they are ‘Deborahs’ they should not shrink back from carrying faithfully their mantle of leadership!

A friend who has endured many trials in his belief for what is right, reminded me this morning that no matter what we will have to undergo, to remember that God is Good; faithful and True always.

Keep on. Loys

I was intrigued today as I read reports about the tropical storm Lee racing toward the Gulf States, or more specifically toward New ...
read more »]]> 3^rd September 2011

I was intrigued today as I read reports about the tropical storm Lee racing toward the Gulf States, or more specifically toward New Orleans. What struck me was the comment made by the executive director of S&WB, Marcia St. Martin, to the citizens of the greater New Orleans area that “The pumping capacity is at 100 percent. We will close gates as necessary, but most importantly, it’s important that citizens clean their catch basins, clean their drains” (http://www.munciefreepress.com/node/24341).

We might ask: what can a few drains really do in the face of such fury? But, when one adds the collective impact of more than 1 million people each doing this ‘little’ thing well, we get the massive results of community at work.

Nothing can shock the system of a community as the power of a hurricane blasting through a city. Nothing can do more to gravitate those that are threatened in this way into galvanized action. Moreover, nothing can do more to generate compassion; service; help; support; finances; love and prayer. The Internet is packed with accounts of billions of dollars of resources poured into such situations. The figures are staggering despite the failed promises to meet the minimum 0.7% of GNP by some of the wealthiest nations as the two Official Development Aid charts below show:

Charts courtesy: Globalissues.org – +-125B$ spent by nations in 2010

And yet, it is not the billions given by nations, and their organizations, that are making the greatest impact in the disaster zones of the world, but the collective sum of the little individual acts of kindness done daily by those who care: from businesspeople turned philanthropists; to individual people; to representatives; to young teenagers giving up weeks or months of their lives to involve themselves in the restoration process; to loving family members, et cetera! One might call these all, whether they represent an organization or themselves, the modern-day Samaritans. It is their faces that the broken and the lost will remember!

Heroic acts, given opportunity by, at times frightening adversity, usually rise above the tides of pain and despair to redeem; restore; recover; refresh, and to rescue. More so, to comfort; to heal, and to bring hope again!

At six years of age on the 28^th February 1960, I experienced what a cyclone could do that was about 100 kilometers in width; moving south at 25 km/h, and spinning at speeds in excess of 250 km/h. I still remember an entire roof fly by our house 100 feet off the ground. Then the eye of the cyclone came over the island casting an eerie suffocating yellow glow over us for four horrible hours. I remember my father, who was manager of La Baraque sugar mill, racing about madly throughout the villages where his employees lived with their families, and warning them that the worst was to come. When the tail of Cyclone Carol hit the island, the impact came in the reverse direction (still turning clockwise). This was what caused most of the devastation.

The graphic picture of the inside wall of my bedroom swelling; water two-feet deep; trees uprooted, and debris flying through the air is still fresh. However, then as now, it was the character of compassion; love; service; sacrifice, and caring of others that still shines above it all in my heart.

What humans discover at such difficult times is the power of community.

Imagine if you will, a placid mountain scene, with vacationers cooking their meat over camp fires; sounds of lighthearted activity and of children running around laughing excitedly, and then a shout is heard from somewhere, “MY CHILD IS LOST!” There will be no questions asked; no further explanations needed. Everyone understands exactly what needs to be done; everyone scatters in the hunt for the lost child. Carried in every mother and father’s heart is a love for all children, and of the burdens that other parents bear in such a situation. Empathy gushes out involuntarily. This is not shallow idealism, but realistic compassion in community at work!

All it takes is a disaster to remind us that we are indeed all members of the same human race; and when push comes to shove, we will care and protect each other no matter what.

John Donne in his Devotions, rightly said, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”.

The possibility of a unified world fills me with joy! Will there always be dissenters? No doubt, yes, but the scriptures do say that when Jesus appears every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2) (not indicating universal salvation). Peter also writes that God is not willing that anyone perish, but that everyone comes to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Yes, some will say no to eternity with God, but we should not fail to appreciate the powerful love of God at work among us!

Keep on. Loys

There comes a time in most fathers’ lives when they get to see their first child married!

I had this privilege last Saturday! See ...
read more »]]> 3^rd September 2011

There comes a time in most fathers’ lives when they get to see their first child married!

I had this privilege last Saturday! See this one minute clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcZ_vXfnXA

More than this, I got to stand in front of my son and his new bride; look them both in the eyes, and tell them that I love them, and that I am proud of them. It makes my eyes water thinking about it!

I was there to see the beginning of the journey of two fantastic young people, whose destinies now joined will build something special, and to know that I will get to enjoy it with them; be part of both their struggles and victories; their laughter, and yes, their tears; of their comings and goings. Irrespective of where they end up, they will always be treasured in my heart, and enjoyed.

This is the true celebration of family: that everyone in ‘family’ shares in some important way in all that the family does. Family is more than blood; it is heart, as was evidenced by all those friends from near and far, who stepped up to volunteer their help, asking nothing, but with gleaming eye; watchful; caring; joyful participants despite their valued tasks; present at our side as we joined together to make it a special day. My heart swells with unspoken thanks.

Jean Anouilh wrote in "The rehearsal": The object of art is to give life to shape

Marriage, like each family, is a work of divine art.

Marriage is more than two people agreeing to share their future. Marriage is the welding of two into one as Genesis says. Even the words, “leave and cleave” do not go far enough in describing what God does in marriage, and how he sees it!

Get the picture of a sculptor bending over a piece that only he has seen; alone in his studio morning till night, shaping; forming; positioning it; melding it into one unit – yet, this barely defines what marriage is.

Since God authors marriage, God completes marriage.

Have you also heard definitions of love rattled off in a wedding ceremony like sausages from a sausage machine, and could barely restrict a yawn?

Consider this: it was at a wedding 35 years ago that God ‘found’ me. The preacher, my father in the faith, Dudley Daniel, preached for 12 minutes on those few “love” verses in 1 Corinthians 13, and I was ‘paralyzed’. I could not move. It was my first visit to a protestant church, and those scriptures transfixed me; stopped me in my tracks, and the way was open for me into a life of service to God.

Should we not then, dwell more carefully on what it means to love another and to be loved by God? Should we not patiently describe the ‘work of art’ that his divine love does in each marriage? Should we not honor what his word says about it?

Yes, let us rather linger where the fragrance dwells. No harsh words can survive there; no scathing remarks; and no constant reminders of past mistakes. No rejection of past commitments can ascend that throne; no dishonoring acts of betrayal. This is a place where we can only see each other through the filter of that divine all-consuming love. In an instant, anger can be swept away; pain healed, and forgiveness let out like the opening sluice gates of a dam long held back. This love shuts out the dark, and shatters every arrow sent to destroy it! This love recovers lost moments, and heals wounded hearts. This love is worthy of our whole attention – more so – of our whole lives!

Keep on. Loys

I read a story recently of a man who was in an airplane about to eat his purchased in-flight $5 lunch, when he ...
read more »]]> 1^st September 2011

I read a story recently of a man who was in an airplane about to eat his purchased in-flight $5 lunch, when he glanced to his right at a bunch of soldiers all sitting quietly without any food. He could not bring himself to eat his, but got up and went to the steward’s cabin at the back of the plane. He gave the hostess a $50 bill and asked her to give food to the ten soldiers. She teared up and told him that what he was doing, he was doing for her own son who was still in Iraq. A little later while he was sitting in his seat, another hostess came up with a tray of food from the first-class cabin, which she said was as a “thank-you” . Then two strangers came up to him and each gave him $25, and said that they also wanted to help. Then the pilot arrived and asked to shake his hand. All the passengers began to clap in appreciation.

It does not take much to raise the joy level in any situation. Even the smallest grace acts of kindness can transform the atmosphere in a second. I had a similar situation happen to me on a flight to the island of St. John. What ended up happening in that instance was that eight of the passengers came to the church that I was ministering at.

Getting joy is God’s grace to us; keeping joy is our charge and opportunity to others.

We can make living even more fun!

It is plain also that any happiness unsupported by the giver of true happiness is a thin veneer that waits for a situation to disrupt it.

The key to shepherding God’s glory in joy rests in the belief that we stand on level ground with Jesus, and that he gives us the pleasure of administering it. He said, “Behold, little flock it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). David understood this so that he might be able to both confess his sin and proclaim his integrity at the same time. Psalm 26 shows this belief – it is God’s glory, and not his efforts that had placed him in the midst of God’s glory. It is God’s glory that has created a hunger in him for more of God! He writes, “How I love the habitation of your house, and the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8). Later in the psalms, Ethan writes, “for you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt their horn” (89:17). In 96:6-8, the psalmist writes, “strength and beauty are in his sanctuary… ascribe to the Lord glory due his name”.

Clearly, God’s glory is meant to shine through those who live in God’s house. They are “hidden”, in a way of speaking, in the cleft of the rock Jesus Christ. When Moses said to God, “now show me your glory”, God responded by hiding him “in the cleft of the rock” (Exodus 33:18-22). Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would show the “glory of the Lord, and all people would see it” (40:5). Isaiah backs these words with an oath that “the mouth of the Lord has spoken”. When God makes an oath, he swears to it on his own life!

By both God’s response to Moses, and by the words of all the prophets, it is certain that any relationship with God includes the visible presence of his glory among humankind, so that “together they would see”.

We should ask: why is there so little evidence of God’s glory today, though we should not be mistaken about the massive amount of grace; mercy, and life-sustaining love that God is pouring out on everyone every instant of our existence?

I mean no disrespect to all the born again saints who do walk in God’s glory every day, but I speak of a sense that God is calling us all deeper, and further than we have been before. For instance, what are we meant to think about the scripture that says, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isaiah 43:7).

It would simply be sad if we were to find out later, that we had much more glory on tap than we imagined possible. Paul’s words carry with them an urging or beseeching. One can feel that he is asking the Corinthians to raise their eyes higher when he writes, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31), and again, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Without a doubt, this world wants to be filled with joy, and must also want to enjoy the presence of God’s glory. Most of us however, would admit to not knowing how to shepherd it well. Moments of ecstasy or victory can be quickly swallowed up by the mundane; by mounting debt; by difficult events; by personal insecurities; by relational mishaps, or by some other negative thing, but what gives joy to the saints is the knowledge that they stand, as David did, “on level ground”! Some need to acquire their “sea legs”, so that when their boat sways in the swell, they continue to stand as if “on level ground”; some need to surrender their temper to God, so that when conflict arises, they can stay standing on level ground; some need to give their timidity to God, so that when a difficult situation emerges they can stay standing on level ground

The story of the Air-Samaritan was not concluded until he arrived in the terminal. He approached the soldiers and gave them the $50 he had received from the other passengers and told them to use it to feed themselves later that day. I would bet that their lives were deeply touched that day!

Keep on. Loys

My brother who designs bridges as a civil engineer has a saying: Engineers just can’t walk away from a bridge, with an analysis ...
read more »]]> 31^st August 2011

My brother who designs bridges as a civil engineer has a saying: Engineers just can’t walk away from a bridge, with an analysis or a report. They have to see the problems through to an effective resolution – they couldn’t just submit the report. He says engineers should see every bridge as THEIR personal responsibility, irrespective of who designed it, or built it! The thing that keeps them from walking away is “passion and love for what you do”.  In Kaohsiung, the southern most major city of Taiwan, the engineers had picked up longitudinal cracks next to the abutments underneath the deck of one of their bridges. The bridge was 100 meters long and carried extremely heavy daily traffic. The problem was complex and they had not been able to resolve it. They flew him into the city. Twenty Taiwanese engineers looked at him from the ground and pointed up at the cracks and said, “why?” He had no idea what caused it. He asked to be lifted in a one-man lift into the deck box. When he got in, unbeknownst to them, he got immediately on his knees and asked God to help him. What came instantly into his mind was a paper he had written many years earlier in Africa on ‘temperature gradients in the transverse direction’. As he lifted his eyes he saw the answer immediately. He realized that the repairs they had carried out on the cracks were actually wrong, and had already seriously threatened the bridge.

I have learned something from his love of his work, and the passion with which he approaches it. He does not leave the basics to others. His passion takes him out of his office to the bridge itself. He involves himself intimately with every detail of what will make a bridge a success. Many stories of him going into impossible places and drilling into a wooden pile to obtain the samples he needed to prove that a bridge is about to collapse, is one of the things that has earned him respect in the engineering community. In a manner of speaking: He cares for the bridge more than he cares for the client. He obviously backs his practical exercises with sound mathematical calculations. He thinks beyond the bridge to the lives that use it every day. A few years back, in similar investigative fashion, he had two engineers lower him in a harness above a ravine below a foot bridge used every day by hundreds of children, to prove that it was about to collapse. The bridge was immediately condemned, and, we will never know, but potentially many lives were saved from disaster.

We have each been challenged at various times in our lives with the need to go beyond the call of duty!

Fundamental to this approach to life are certain elementary principles:

First, we need a correct perspective of ourselves! Integral to success, is the ability to recognize our own limits. As a leader I would much rather have people who are both zealous in their work and real about their shortcomings. Many today do not embrace this approach, thinking perhaps that they will lose their job if they are truthful about their abilities? However, the opposite is usually true: those who are honest about what they can or cannot do display the more worthy attitude of wisdom and accountability – they are the ones that end up growing and maturing into successful operatives, or alternatively, being redirected into directions where they can be more effective. No one, if they are a wise leader, wants to lose someone who is both passionate about their work and is honest!

Second, we need a correct perspective of others. It is not ‘judgmental’ to make assessments of how well or badly others are doing. Such judgments are integral to the success of any project. It requires a strong wisdom to assess progress; in fact all positive progress depends on it. Assessments enable the right people to do the right things; they enable taking care of what is overlooked in good time. Good leaders will create an environment in their teams that encourage mature assessments that do not disparage people. It is important for a team to work together, but if they do not take stock of their situations regularly, they will create an unhealthy; difficult, and ineffective environment. No one likes to be told that he has not done so well. It takes a commitment to the perspectives of others to engage in this process. Those companies, and entities that do, always benefit, by contrast, those that don’t, usually lose pace with proper progress. The junkyard of corporate companies is filled with former titans who refused to listen to their own employees, such as Kodak. They fostered, as do others today, an environment of internecine warfare, instead of co-operative and open discussion!

Third, we need a perspective that goes beyond the task. We might ask: how does one acquire that sense of responsibility? Responsibility is linked to love. The love of what we do, grows symbiotically with the desire to see it work. In this way, passion and process walk hand in hand, as does desire and discipline. Wise leaders can begin to develop this attitude in their teams early on in a person’s career, perhaps by showing how it is done’ by communicating and teaching, and by showing that success can be achieved without undue sacrifice to the important co-existing values of family; honor; fair pay; respect, discipline and affirmation.

Fourth, we need a correct perspective of obstacles. People who are unable to see the problem will not see through the problem, but it takes greater wisdom not to stop at the problem, but to grasp the solution. People can be trained to see it, and to see past it. A friend who raced motorcycles once explained this approach to me. He said, that if a bale of hay were to be thrown in the path of his racing motorcycle two things should occur almost simultaneously, first, seeing the bale, and second, looking past it – the racer who will miss that bale most times is the one who looks past it at where he wants his bike to go.

Fifth, we need a correct perspective of God. No situation is ever complete until it has been placed before God in our hearts with an expectation of his help. God always has a plan, and will communicate to us the correct approach. His wisdom is the highest wisdom, and is thus well worth waiting for. Those who find this path, find a peace within that is unshakeable. People who turn their faces upward easily make up whatever shortfall they, or their team may have. Even wild and stormy situations are stilled as easily as Jesus stilled the raging sea to the amazement of his disciples. God is in control of nature; of people; of their situations, and of their futures!

Whether it is physical, or spiritual bridges we build, let us decide what kind of bridge we will build, and whether we will build it in such a way that it can stand up to the weather that is coming! Infectious passion, and hard work, will gather around us people of like-mind – a bunch of passionate bridge builders!

Keep on. Loys

A friend teaches that the most powerful thing you can do to get out of debt is “the snowball effect”. ...
read more »]]> 29^th August 2011

A friend teaches that the most powerful thing you can do to get out of debt is “the snowball effect”. Everybody knows how troubling debt is, and even more so, how foolish it is to ignore it – the many years that some spend overlooking the effects of poor budgeting is fearsome. Nonetheless, there is not one who would also not testify of God’s grace at work to protect and help them, despite mistakes daily made.

The ‘snowball effect” works because it advocates attacking debt in a different way! Begin by putting all your debts on the table before you, and pick the smallest one, and work hard to pay it off. When it is discharged, continue your payments plus the interest that is now released, to start clearing the next smallest debt until it is also paid off completely, and so on until all your debt is wiped out!  This approach creates a snowball effect that builds and accelerates until all your debt is literally overwhelmed and obliterated.

God’s added glory works in the same way: when God finds you, he gets you with your baggage. He removes the control and power that the old man/nature had over you (your “sin-dominated nature” – Romans 3:23), and more so, he gives you his righteousness (Romans 3:21). This first step is not gradual, but instant. It is eternal and final. You are secured eternally (2 Thessalonians 2:16). But, his righteousness in you is also the ability to obey; the power to achieve; the holiness to celebrate; the anointing to breakthrough; the strength to build, and the joy to understand that the comfort that you have been given is eternal – this is the “new man” Paul speaks of (Ephesians 4, Colossians 3; 2 Corinthians 3) – it is the life of Jesus Christ in you (Colossians 1:27). Paul writes to the Thessalonians that God comforts us eternally with good hope through grace, and then establishes us in every good work and word.

Note that after he comforts us eternally he then establishes us in every good work and word. Next to obvious sins therefore, the worse thing we can do is to be overwhelmed by what still needs to be done in us. Rather, since, as with the Galatians, we begin only in the Spirit (Galatians 3), let us continue in the same way – in fellowship with the Spirit (2 Corinthians 13).

In summary therefore:

First, we need to let the Spirit do what he wants. When we are faced by something in us, to resist the temptation to fret about it, but to go to God – God must come first always – let us get this right. Obviously, we do not continue to sin (1 John 3:9), but there is a massive difference between someone who takes the burden on, and another who gives it to God in faith and trust. Jesus himself, faced every situation with faith in God, and from within his relationship with the Father. He said, “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (John 8:28)

Second, God who is kind and gracious will probably begin only with the things that we can cope with – it might be our debt, or our attitude, or any other thing. Strife; frustration; fear; discouragement are less due to the size of a problem, than that we have not been obedient in the one little thing the Spirit is speaking to us about. God himself foretells this work of grace. To the Israelites, he said, “The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you” (Deuteronomy 7:22). Paul explains this also in his first letter to the Corinthians, “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Third, the key of the process of grace in building greater waves of glory are thus maintaining joy and happiness despite what we know still needs to be done. I have seen the strong symbiosis between faith and joy – they help to support each other in us. Faith says even in the most desperate times, “Spring up o well, and all that is within me”, so that joy mounts; our attitude is instantly changed from our perspective, to God’s! Joy, on the other hand, says, “Is it not time to take a fresh step; a more risky leap? Did Jesus not say that whatever you ask of the Father in my name he will give it to you? Is there not more to your faith than being full of joy? Step out mighty son or daughter – there is much more, and it will gladden your heart to see the many waves of glory that it will release in you and in others!”

Keep on. Loys

My younger brother and I, as young teenagers, made it our business every December to steal a Christmas tree for the family. It never occurred ...
read more »]]> 26^th August 2011

My younger brother and I, as young teenagers, made it our business every December to steal a Christmas tree for the family. It never occurred to us at the time that we were being trained as ‘thieves’. Sadly, this is one sin in my past that I have never been able to make restitution for. With the tacit approval of our parents, who never said anything about it, my brother and I would eye a tree for months as we travelled along the Zululand roads to and from Felixton, where we lived: size; height; shape, et cetera. No tree shorter than three meters would do!

I don’t quite think God was amused, but these episodes were extremely funny!

As was often the case, the tree we would spot was situated many kilometers from our home, but no problem, since our zeal always amply covered the risks!

The exercise had to be planned: how to cut the tree; how to cover the noise of the ax; the best way to carry the tree; what the possible obstacles were; how to avoid being seen by anyone, and the time of the night to do it!

I remember one year we had to traverse a 200 meter single-car lane bridge over a river. The evening had begun tensely enough. The tree was positioned one hundred meters from the main road on a farm about six kilometers from our home. We hacked the trunk in spurts using the noise of passing cars to muffle the sound of the ax.

It was plain to us that that tree, and a car of any size, would not fit on that bridge at the same time.

Waiting in the dark on the far side for more than an hour as we calculated the time it would take to run along it, and then estimating the time it would take for a car approaching on the horizon to get to the bridge, was hectic, but the moment came! I grasped the trunk, and yelled at my brother, who was hidden somewhere two-thirds of the way down the tree with pine needles sticking in his eyes; nose, and ears. I screamed, “RUN! NOWW! Unfortunately, halfway across, a pair of headlights appeared on the horizon, I will never ever forget the feeling I got at that moment. I knew that if we did not get across in time, we were done for; we were fried meat; we were goners! We couldn’t go back. We were too far in for that! Nothing left to do, but to shout louder to my brother to run faster. Still today we have no idea how we made it over, but just as the car was about 50 meters away, we dived into the dark bush on the other side!

We never asked ourselves what the poor farmer would say about our escapades. We never got caught. No criminal records. No anxious waiting behind the front door for the ominous police visit, and no sense of guilt. It just never occurred to us that we had done anything wrong at all. Jail; Juvie; arrest records, et cetera, did not enter our minds. We had our tree. That is all we wanted. The only memories we would take into the next year were the intense celebrations in our household as we arrived in the dark of night dragging that tree! We remember the glee and laughter of our two sisters. We laughed; we told our stories again and again. Nothing ever rained on our parade. We would spend the next day decorating – every spot was filled with some ornament. The smell of those fresh pine needles would permeate our home. Our presents would rest at the bottom of that tree on Christmas Eve. We sang our songs thanking God for his blessings around that tree!

It had been stolen, but who would tell us that we had done wrong?

The lesson was however, sadly lost on me, until recently when I encountered God’s grace in a greater measure than before in thirty-four years of ministry!God tried wrath against Israel, but to no avail. They rebelled even more; they hardened their hearts even further; they turned their shoulders away from him even more deeply to their idols! God said, “I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart” (Isaiah 57:17). But then, Isaiah teaches that God had, if that were possible, a ‘change of mind’. He said, “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners” (57:18). God decided to extend his grace to them instead of the wrath they justly deserved, by sending his son to die for them; to take their sins on his shoulders. This was God’s ‘olive branch’ to humankind. The King of glory was coming in (Psalm 24). He would enter Jerusalem riding a donkey – humbly and with grace and mercy. Paul in the book of Romans writes that it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance (Romans 2).

Corrie ten Boom wrote, “It is a joy that God never abandons his children. He guides faithfully all who listen to his directions”. Paul goes further in using Psalm 69:9 to explain God’s grace, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me”” (Romans 15:1-3)

We should praise God therefore, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he has loved us, even though we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ – for by grace we have been saved(Ephesians 2:4-5)!

Thus, the summation of all of life comes back to the one awesome truth: that God does indeed love us with an extravagant love!

The story would not be complete without saying that today my brother and our two sisters, and all our spouses, are serving God in some way, and almost all of our nineteen combined children know God as their savior, and are in various stages of preparing to serve him with their lives, and have already at a young age become missionaries to various parts of the world. I am glad to say: there is not one thief among them (or at least, we do not know)! Such was God’s awesome grace over us; such was his love; such have been his ministrations in helping us to walk into his presence!

Keep on in grace. Loys

Six months ago at this time, Sharon and I were in the United Arab Emirates waiting for a flight to Bahrain. As a result ...
read more »]]> 25^TH August 2011

Six months ago at this time, Sharon and I were in the United Arab Emirates waiting for a flight to Bahrain. As a result of a tiff between the Canadian and United Arab Emirates politicians, we were stopped from entering Bahrain for a ministry trip. However, the very night we were due to land, the Bahrain riots broke out and more than sixty people died in Manama. We thus spent a few days with my brother, who is a civil engineer based in Dubai. While there, on the 22^nd of February, we got to hear Gaddafi’s full speech televised by Al-Jazeera, where he vowed to hunt down the ‘traitors’ among his people like rats from street to street; house to house, until he had rid his land of all the vermin. Today, six months later, it is those very revolutionary rebel ‘rats’ who are going from street to street ridding their Libya of the madman who effectively pronounced the death sentence on them.

I was in a state of shock, not at this speech, but at the events occurring over the once well controlled Mid-Orient. The social revolution had begun!

The lesson perhaps being learned again is that God does not overlook the innocent; the poor, and the downtrodden. Their cries do ascend up to heaven. He is not forever silent in the theatres of their tears! “Zenga by zenga” (“Inch by inch” – song written by an Israelite – inspired by the Gaddafi tirade) God’s purposes do arrive on time at the gates of our edifices and abuses! Did we not also see the Berlin Wall, and the abuses carried out by the ideologies that undergirded it, dismantled piece by piece (that story is not yet over)?

We were discussing as a family what are the options that a Canadian has if he or she were to choose any political party in our country. Someone suggested that there is the option of “spoiling the vote”, but is that any better than putting our ‘sign’ on any candidate or party that supports the murder of the unborn? These are all invidious choices! For us to affirm any of it (I am not advocating passivism), may be no better a wisdom than the foolishness of a young Quebecer girl who sought employment in the government only to get the opportunity to display a placard protesting the leadership of this land while parliament sat in session (actual event occurring at the beginning of the year).

What are our choices? We should ask: Is Western behavior more acceptable simply because we agree democratically? Clearly, agreement was never a guarantee of peace. We could agree to kill and think ourselves at peace, but God sees everything, and will not be silent, though many, as God’s words warns, will ask scornfully, “where is your silent God now?” But as we have seen, God will be as ‘silent’ in the Mid-Orient as he was ‘silent’ at Russian abuses. God will be as ‘silent’ as he was in Egypt, when he used a Joseph to rescue the nations of his day from famine. God will be as ‘silent’ as when he used a Daniel to turn the mighty Babylonian empire literally on its head.

We should seriously consider the possibility that God means what he says, when he states that “that all things that can be shaken will be shaken” (Hebrews 12). In addressing Job’s self-righteousness, Elihu, referring to God, said, “But if he remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he is over man and nation alike” (Job 34:29). Even now, there are countless millions who are crying out as David did, “O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord” (Psalm 35:22)

Isaiah, one of the greatest books outlining God’s strategies for the world from its inception to its conclusion is a most worthy read and study. I consider it great wisdom for every person who desires leadership at any level to make a rigorous study of it. Buy a commentary of Isaiah, such as that of Barry Webb’s, and ask God to reveal his eternal purposes as you marinate in its verses! Indelibly etched in every verse are two things, first, that mankind is sinful and undeserving, and second, that despite it, God has chosen not to be angry by providing a solution through his grace and mercy to the world: Jesus Christ!

When Isaiah writes that God will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch (62:1), he is foretelling the truth that in the last days “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2).

One night God spoke to Paul in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent” (Acts 18:19).Paul had obtained his mandate through God’s glory. We should ask: how are we making our stand in love? How do I let go? How do I go deeper in bible study? What is Christianity to me? What is the meaning of life? What is God’s grace to me? What is God’s power to me and through me? How do I serve? Is Jesus real to me? Is he a friend? Has his love for me produced in me a love for others? What is life? How is my family? Am I fighting the battles God gives me faithfully? What is prayer to me? What is generosity to me? Am I building a destiny that others will be able to build on, or am I self-centered? What is God’s forgiveness to me? What is God’s peace to me?

So take heart, brothers and sisters, there are fights to fight, that only each of us can engage, as there is a particular mantle for every born again person who turns their face to God. Whether it is to fight for the murdered unborn, or to reach out a hand to a poor neighbor, there is no difference or distinction to God – the two things he sees are, first, do we believe in Jesus Christ, and second, have we been obedient to love others as he has loved us, and soon enough, Jesus Christ will return as the Bible promises! The Spirit is here to take each of us forward one step at a time into greater and greater expressions of God’s glory!

Keep on. Loys

Have we asked why there are double the number of global searches monthly on the Internet (7 million) for “how to commit suicide”, than ...
read more »]]> 24^th August 2011

Have we asked why there are double the number of global searches monthly on the Internet (7 million) for “how to commit suicide”, than for “what is salvation?” Is there in this a trend in sociology that we ought to be thinking about? The experts who study these things are particularly concerned with the significant increases in suicides in recent decades among young males in Japan; in several European countries, and Oceania (see:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1994.tb01556.x/abstract).

Suicides are significantly more prevalent among men than among women. The stats show that mothers and daughters are much less troubled by the problem – between three to four times less. We should ask why? Perhaps they are too busy caring for their children to think of taking their own lives. More specifically, a comparison between ten Russian-connected countries shows a total of approximately 600 men of every 100,000 that commit suicide, as opposed to 140 of 100,000 out of ten western-connected countries. Perhaps this indicates that Russia, which has championed a noxious strain of secular humanism, is still bearing the consequences of its secularist controls today – more than four times more Russian-connected men commit suicide than those who have lived with more Judeo-Christian influences.

I did a comparison also of three types of questions asked on the Internet: first, “what is Christianity”; second, “what is life”, and third, “what is death”?The results show the things that are at the forefront of modern thinking. The attached bar chart shows that the sources of the questions are countries more open to Judeo-Christian values – something happens to the human mind that opens up, and is raised up in a Judeo-Christian culture. .

Interestingly, when compared to questions about Christianity, the question “What is death” is asked 1/5^th of the time.

The most significant trend for me is the comparison between “Christianity” and “life” over the course of the last eight years. The first question, “what is Christianity” (depicted in Blue in the diagram below), has gone from 80% down to 20%. The second question, “what is life” (depicted in Orange), has gone from 25% to 55% (these are only comparisons relative to one another).

Despite this seemingly negative trend, what encourages me is that instilled in every human is a desire for life that rises above a desire for death (not universal salvation). In spite of the most severe ideological abuses, the human spirit, quests for more of life. The trend away from religion, and with it all forms of legalism, is being replaced by the question, “what is life?” The fact that this transition has fostered a new social revolution in the mid-orient should not escape us, but this is too vast a topic to tackle here. We should not disagree with the need to break free from religions that promote acceptance through correct behavior rather than surrender to God by faith in Jesus. John wrote that everyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus brings eternal life, not religion. It was the religionists of his day that crucified him. As then, Jesus is still seeking out the poor and humble wherever they may be. Therefore, as Paul says (comments added),

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (those who do not believe in Jesus Christ), but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” – 1 Corinthians 1:18-30

We remember that Jesus had more impact among the poor; destitute; blind; ostracized; marginalized; little; humble, and unlearned, than he did among the rich; the educated, and among those who deemed themselves ‘wise’.

I ask, therefore: could we be poised in this century to see a revival of God’s glory among the earnest seekers; the humble, and those little in their own eyes? Might we be seeing the work of the Spirit among unbelievers, in these searching questions about life all over the world? Is God’s intent notstill to use those who would be servants, and are the “least” (Matthew 20:25-28)? Can he not reach those who cry out in their poverty and despair?

We should wonder what the more than 400 million people every month who ask the questions: “what is life” (151 million); “how to love” (185 million), and “what is family” (68 million), are getting as answers. It is certain they will, at some point, assess the nature of God through the love they receive from flesh and blood people who have matured enough in the Spirit to care less for themselves than for the needs of others!

A generation is being raised up humble in their walk; knowing how to let go; with their bibles open, and ready to give 100% of what they have freely received.These are the ones that have been touched by his glory! They say, “my life is given over to Jesus”; “I am forgiven”; “I have peace”; “he has paid for my sins”; “my eternal destiny is secure”; “he has shown me what my life is about”; “he has revealed the meaning of life to me”; “all fall short of the Glory of God”; “all need God”; “all of heaven declares his glory” (Romans 3:23), and “I will live my life to please God in his glory”!

Keep on. Loys

23rd August 2011

Flying kites in high winds has given me some of ...
read more »]]> GLORY TO GOD, THE HEAVENS DECLARE!

23^rd August 2011

Flying kites in high winds has given me some of the most exciting times spent in the Drakensberg Mountains. There was an ideal kite-flying moment preceding and during the afternoon thunderstorms where the winds, sometimes accompanied by hailstones, would pick up to more than 100 km/h in seconds and sweep down the mountainsides and into the valleys. They could tear up a kite not strong or flexible enough. I learnt to use only the best cloths and carbon fibers. One of my kites spanning about two meters would bend on a 200-foot dual-line to where the ends almost touched each other in the storms. I spent some pretty special times alone on those mountainsides. But, without the wind, any mountain-storm is dull and uninteresting. Kite flyers don’t want it to gust, but to blow consistently and with power.

It is the same with every born again person, they have tasted the wind of the glory of God, but they want it to blow with power. They want it to blow consistently. They want to learn to use their skills in that kind of wind; like a kite-flyer in the mountains, or a sky-skier on the beaches. Let’s be frank and say, that the future should involve more than we have seen, and cannot be same-same.

So, why is the subject of God’s glory causing such controversy today?

Most in the church, including devoted disciples of Jesus – “Christianity wiki” should tabulate this – would concur that they have become jaded by the modern claims of super-miracles; the miracles; ‘our miraculous ministry’, and of miracle workers. The constant themes of what “we have to do to get the miracle” has worn us out. Perhaps we need to reinstruct everyone how to let go!! Most people in this world, saved or not, are basic. They want to know how to raise children; how to keep a family safe, and how to get out of debt! I did a recent study ofGoogle words, and it seems what people want to hear of Christianity are what grace is, and what forgiveness is! The hype of the Lakeland revival, for instance, has left a litany of ‘casualties’, and should be a lesson to us all. The only “real” of Lakeland were the simple; humble folk who were genuinely seeking God through their difficulties, thus the glory of God healed them. It was not the performers and promoters, but his amazing grace that did THE ONLY GOOD.

Clearly, we need some analysis of what it will take to walk in a real relationship with Jesus – a composite of values worthy of application and embrace. My analysis of the subject, as an insider, and ‘believer’ (Jesus still does the miracles today), has revealed some of these key elements that describe what is real.

Here they are:

First, Jesus shunned publicity. Every ‘miraculous’ fiasco has been accompanied by publicity. I include Lakeland in this – as already said; I saw what was real, and what was fake! Clearly, God will stop what is not of him. We should know this even through simple bible study – it is in the bible. Perhaps, someone needs to write a course on what Christianity is; what the bible is; what grace is. 13.5 million people each month ask the simple question on the web: what is grace? Have we answered that one, or are we still bound in legalism? Preaching miracles without the character of holiness is not sustainable. Preaching amazing grace without graciousness is not sustainable. Growing our ministry by self-promoting is not sustainable! Taking credit for what God does, does not honor God! Making false claims about miracles does NOT glorify God! For instance, I refer you to the following site about one such ‘miracle worker’ for you to form your own opinion – http://www.pfo.org/exploits.htm. A composite of Jesus’ attitude is easily seen in the first six chapters of the book of Luke, where he repeatedly told the disciples “do not tell”. This attitude should be ours too. Much of what we call “visible ministry”; “TV ministry”; “TV evangelism”; “miracle meetings”, or “healing crusades” would summarily end, if self-promotion were to cease. Should we not say to the unsaved “look first to the Master, and not to the miracles”? Would this not be our answer to the more than 3 million monthly Internet searches made on “what is salvation”, and the 25 million that ask every month “who is Jesus”, and the additional 11 million who ask “who is Christ”?

Second, every genuine revival honors God’s word – I include the call to devotion – a more personal revival (which is as important, if not more so) in this. The Spirit will honor God’s word above our opinions. Is it time again to remind the church to engage in regular bible study? Is it time to remind Christians – as Paul says to the Galatians – that they who walk with the Spirit walk in the fruit of the Spirit?

Third, seeking God’s glory has to be viewed, first, in the context of an eternal salvation already received for all those who believe in Jesus, and second, in the ongoing work of the Spirit in us for the maturing of believers. This is importantly saying that walking in any goodness is utterly impossible outside of first, being born again, and second, walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Thus, we need both a proper soteriology, and a theology of covenants: of the inheritance already received through Jesus, and the growing inheritance we receive as we walk with the Spirit. To believe in God’s increasing glory is entirely scriptural. Both Paul and Peter taught it, but never as if it could be received or grown outside a relationship with the Spirit! Therefore, for glory to be possible in us, it has to be first received eternally (1 Peter 1:8a; 5:10a; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Philippians 3:21b), and then grown in us by the Spirit (1 Peter 1:8b; 5:10b; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Philippians 3:21a).

Fourth, seeking God’s glory is not “kingdom now” – It is “kingdom in”, and “kingdom with”. Jesus said, referring to those who believe in him, “the kingdom is in you”. “Kingdom” is not license to do what we want – “kingdom” is utterly useless without kingship. What is Christianity if it is not Christ as KING in us!

As Peter writes, “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “you shall be holy for I am holy”. And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:15-19)

Keep on. Loys