As you pray - 1 February 2008

My dear friends

On Sunday Onkel Friedel gave the congregation an update on Onkel Erlo. Thankfully, the cause of Onkel Erlo's ill health has been identified and the body is slowly reacting positively to the medication. The specialist says that O Erlo's body will need three months of complete rest for it to fight back the disease. O Friedel pleaded for understanding that for this period visits to O Erlo, as well intended as they may be, will just have to wait. We are welcome to send messages to the family who will then pass them on. We pray on.

Bettina Marayag from Times Square Church in New York would like to thank us for the prayer support for the Pastors' Conference in Panama last week with Pastors Dave and Gary Wilkerson. May the Lord keep blessing the good seed of His Word in people's hearts.

Dorothea Killus has brought to my attention that today is the 99th birthday of George Beverly Shea from the USA and the 79th birthday of Prof Peter Beyerhaus from Germany. We wish these dear brothers God's further blessing.

We welcome back Dutch CFT secretary Nelly van den Bergh who returns today from a visit to her family and the brethren.

From Belgium, Paul Verstraeten requests that we pray for their special service on Sunday. They will be saying farewell to the Yoder family, Amish Mennonites from whom they bought the Mission Centre, the farm at Watou, who leave this month to settle in the USA. Paul says that the Yoders had quite an impact in the region and surrounding areas.

The co-ordinator of Sanctity Life Sunday's Life Chain in Ballito, Nina McNeil, is thankful for the successful event on Sunday. We rejoice and thank God whenever the message of life goes out.

One of the main news items on Radio Khwezi today was the problem of drug abuse amongst the youth of South Africa. When I heard that I thanked God again for the work of our TNT action.

Our prayers will go with the TNT team, Joseph Greyling, Archie van der Walt and Nico van Zyl, who will be ministering from tomorrow, 2-12 February, in the Ladybrand area. They will be visiting many schools and other institutions.

Other pending actions are in Vereening (24-29 February) and Dalton (28 February) on the invitation of Onkel Hogart.

The Provincial Committee of CFT-KwaZulu-Natal together with the National Executive have an important Planning Meeting on Sunday afternoon. Your prayers will be appreciated.

A double loss - or double gain

I believe that one of the most tragic pictures in the New Testament is that of the Gedarenes chasing Jesus away from their region. To them He was just the cause of their heavy financial loss; about two thousand pigs gone in one go. They had been told by the herders that Jesus had allowed demons to go into the pigs and the evil spirits had driven the herd into the sea.

Even though the pig-owners had been told the other side of the story, about Jesus freeing the demon-possessed man from a legion of demons they seem to have misunderstood it. In their misplaced fear their logic told them that their pigs were lost, so Jesus must get lost too - a tragic double loss.

If the Gedarenes had pleaded with Jesus to stay and explain the significance of what had happened the story could have turned out differently. Jesus could have reminded them of the plight of the demon-possessed man; "Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones." (Mark 5:5) He could have asked them to imagine what it must have been like to be possessed by an army of demons, strong enough to drive two thousand pigs into the sea. He could have put everything into perspective by impressing upon them that the soul of man is infinitely worth much more than two thousand pigs.

If the Gedarenes would have embraced Christ and His message of salvation that would have been great spiritual gain. Who knows, the Lord could have blessed them materially beyond their original two thousand pigs? That would have been double gain.

This story goes into the heart of the critical importance of how we react to life's tragedies that come our way. Having been faced day and night with the cruel Motor Neuron Disease monster for the last seven years, I have some idea of the immensity of this challenge. Without grace and strength from above how on earth could I have survived? Whichever way you look at it, turning away from God in anger and frustration when we meet up with tragedies is the greatest tragedy ever.

Job lost all his possessions, children and health. This was too much for Job's wife. In her foolishness she advised Job to curse God and die. That would have been a double loss. Thankfully, through it all, this man of God stuck tenaciously to his Redeemer.

At the end of Job's story we see how his extremely painful ordeal enriched and deepened his spiritual life. That was great gain. As if to give him a 'bonus,' God blessed Job with children, double his possessions and a long life. That was double gain - and much more.

"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:5-6)

Have a blessed weekend.

Pressing on!

In His love

Fano Sibisi

As you pray -1 February 2008