so recently my wife - the beautiful Val (because clearly) – was on a camp where we had been asked to speak (actually first time the invitation came to us as a couple) and someone was chatting to her and said something along the lines of ‘so are you the tagalong?’ – hm, strangely that person still lives today, but ja Val was not super amped and looking back at that camp, if you had [...]
i was sitting in the back of the church meeting yesterday when a couple (who have been married for less than three years) arrived and she came and sat in front of me and he stood at the back of the room to the one side... it was obvious to me that they were having some kind of negative vibe – she was obviously stressed and every now and then would look across at him [...]
so this teacher of the law comes up to Jesus and says, “So what is the most important command in the law?” it’s a trick question and yet Jesus floors the gang of them by summing up the whole law as “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength. and love your neighbour as yourself.” [paraphrase, Matthew 22.37-38] and since then, christians through the [...]
‘...and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ [Acts 2.47b] what comes just before the ‘and’ of that passage that caused such huge growth in the early church? was it their amazing evangelism plans or ABC steps of getting people to follow Jesus? none of the above! it was meeting together, eating together, loving God and loving people together – basically just being church – listening to preaching, seeing miracles [...]
so i read in the newspaper today before church (stocking up on caffeine and chocolate crouissant at the bp) that Jacob Zuma (our president) has fathered another child. i never used to like Zuma. i heard a lot of bad things about him and saw him involved in some criminal cases with various accusations and he made some infamously bad statements about showering preventing AIDS (after being head of some AIDS council or something) and [...]
i attended a funeral last nite for one of my ex youth guys (well a pre-funeral actually as the funeral is on saturday but this was called a 'roer diens?' or something and was an opportunity to celebrate his life and give testimony) who was stabbed to death on the weekend tbV and i were two of about 4 white people in a hall filled with coloured people fromJamestown where he lived and where it [...]
it is important for us to realise just how insulting and offensive the son’s attitude towards his father is, because otherwise we will never fully ‘get’ just how incredibly over-the-top ludicrously insane the father’s response is. the father hands over to his son the inheritance (and if it is half of everything he owns then it must be at cost to him and to his lifestyle and comfort/luxury) and the sons heads off and wastes [...]
marvin the marshoes so it's my birthday today - happy happy - and after a super special breakfast made by my wife - the beautiful Val - and delivered to me in bed - that involved jacobs coffee and chocolate-infested and smartie surrounded yoghurt and a wad of range-free bacon - yum - i finally got given the present my wife has been building up intrigue to the last week and wow what a gift [...]
i don't understand chocolate - i know something about cocoa beans but that's about it - possibly a glass and a half of milk in certain brands and a handful of raiSINs in other overly disobedient and retarded versions - and a bunch about it liking to stick around and be an accessory to your body long after the eating date (friends with unbenefits?) and also that when it goes white it is old (if [...]
another excerpt from Erwin McManus 'an unSTOPPABLE force' - just buy it already! 'And though i'm advocating our need to become a movement, I would like to encourage you to give up on keeping up.' then a little later: 'The first-century church didn't keep up with its time, didn't spend its energy keeping up with its time. The first-century church changed time. It rewrote history. It radically impacted culture. The church was the forerunner, not [...]