NHCF Blog

by Graham Mol I can remember a distinct time when God became real to me. In many ways the beginning of New Harvest in 2000 was also a beginning for me in encountering the Lord in a real and tangible way in my life. Growing up in a Christian home I had always known about God and certainly believed in Him, in a child-like way. At a Sunday School camp I remember "giving my life" to Jesus as I was moved to tears while the song Shine Jesus Shine was sung at one of the meetings during the camp. Yet it was when I was a teenager that I went from knowing about God to actually getting to know Him personally. I remember having my mind blown at our first youth gatherings at NHCF. It felt like I had graduated from Bible Stories to proper Biblical Theology 101. There was so much more to being a believer that I did not know. Through the lessons and times of prayer and worship God started to show me what being a disciple is really like. I am forever grateful for the role that our temp youth pastor, Christy, and then official youth pastor, Laura, played in modelling for me what it means to truly follow Christ. Thursday night youth fellowship meetings were the highlight of my week, I was so hungry to know more about the Lord, to spend more time in worship, allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to my heart. There have certainly been significant moments in my journey with the Lord. Wow moments, stern moments of being disciplined, tender moments of love and healing. Yet as I look back on my life up until this day I feel that there is one verse that so accurately describes my relationship with God: The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3) God's love for me, expressed through godly people in my life and most purely in Christ's sacrifice, has enfolded me my whole life. Even when I did not realise it. Yet what joy it was when I first realised the depth and richness of His love. What blessed assurance it was to be called a child of God. I will never forget what it felt like when God became real to me. The wonderful truth is that He loves you with the same everlasting love. He is drawing you with His kindness. If you have yet to experience the reality of His love, to have the eyes of your heart opened to His presence, my prayer is for that day to come soon. In the words of Paul: I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together…

by Caryl Moll Some of you may have read my previous post “I first encountered Jesus” where I share the story about how God became real to me before I even knew He had. (click HERE if you wish to read it)  The reality is that I had a very isolated childhood on our family farm. Being the ‘laat-lammetjie’ (late child) of the family, I was very much left to my own devices while my parents worked hard to support our family. I was aware of God’s presence during those times as I explored the vast bush and landscape. Even as a small toddler, I had an imaginary friend, ‘Tanya’, who today I believe must have been one of God’s angels. Tanya’s presence made me feel ‘whole’ and I can still remember sharing an imaginary cup of tea with her on the front lawn. The farm was my Eden. Nothing else mattered. It was an era of my life where I felt pure, innocent joy when I ran through the fields with my hands outstretched. So you can imagine how it felt when, at the tender age of 12 years old, I was sent off to boarding school. This was to become my new life. It was like being placed in a foreign land with unfamiliar social norms and structures. The only personal space I had was my own bed where I slept (there were 10 kids in a dorm) and even that was subject to ‘inspection’ by the prefects. Punitive measures were taken if our living spaces weren’t up to their standards – and then we were prohibited from going home at weekends. We were only allowed out to go to church on a Sunday (a 4 km walk there and back), to the shops on a Friday, and on weekend leave (once a month – if you behaved!) To say that I was unhappy with my lot in life was an understatement. In response, I applied myself to achievement – academically and extramurally. It was the only way for me to experience some kind of acknowledgement that I mattered in this world. Achievement became my substitute for love – a distorted thinking, I know. But the more I achieved, the more my parents celebrated and the more my friends seemed to accept me. Love distorted! Deep down, I felt an overwhelming unhappiness. I was lonely and miserable and pined for the occasional weekends where I could go back to the farm. Even then, though, my farm friends (the worker’s kids) had grown up and moved on. It was a time of emotional isolation…but ironically the brink of a new beginning. It took two years before God became ‘real’ to me. I remember one Sunday night lying on my bed after spending the weekend in the hostel. Some of my friends had gone on a church camp. (I couldn’t afford it). They arrived back at the hostel in a bus and you could hear the noise before they entered…

by Luke Kincaid I became a disciple of Jesus on a Friday or Saturday evening in my teenage years. In the moment of my salvation, I remember experiencing a tangible moment with God which I can still vividly remember, even while typing this up. Following this evening, I tried my best to follow after Jesus as best as I could. I remember waking up and reciting Ephesians 6 and putting on the armor of God before going to school ready for the spiritual battle! Unfortunately, I experienced very little discipleship in this time and the things of the world ended up drawing me away from my true Master. My experience of God in these times of disobedience are some of my favourite because God was so faithful and patient with me while I chose not to walk in His ways. He showed me incredible grace because I was often aware of the fact that I was being disobedient as the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance the teachings of Jesus which were contrary to how I was living. And in this time, I experienced the consequence of my sin and experienced the love of God through His discipline in correcting me:  5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by him, 6 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives. – Hebrews 12:5-6 I eventually came to my senses, repented of my disobedience and started to get back on track with following Jesus. Flash forward many years and Cammie and I were a few months away from getting married. Cammie was working and I was finishing up my studies with no real opportunity, or finances, to move in together after being wed. One Sunday morning, friends of ours approached us, not knowing our predicament, and offered us the option to stay free of charge at the cottage on their property after getting married. This brought Cammie and I to tears as we experienced God’s providence and this providence is something which we have experienced on more than one occasion proving the following words of Jesus: 25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? – Matthew 6:25-26  God has been real to me through the show of His grace and patience toward me as well as His continued providence to me and my family. I am so grateful to be a disciple of Jesus and a child of God! Much love, Luke

Our vision for this year is one that is focused on helping people to truly encounter God in their life. Our desire is for many to have that moment where the Lord becomes "Real to Me". “...We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” - John 4:42 NIV The blogs this week will be focused on that aspect our relationship with God. There will be testimonies of the moment that the Lord truly became real in the writer's lives, reflections on what brought them to that place, and insights into what for each person brings real authentic relationship with the Lord. To kick off this blog series we'll be leaving you with the words to the song Real to Me by Christian band, the Sidewalk Prophets. This song speaks about that experience of someone truly encountering the Lord and being grateful for all the things, good and bad, that led to that life-changing moment. The link to the song is also included at the end of the blog. Real to Me by the Sidewalk Prophets I was raised in the heartland Taught to revere Your name I spoke it out on Sundays Other times used it in vain Yeah I'd stare up at the stars Seeking shelter from the noise Sent up a thousand prayers But I never heard Your voice Searching searching for something real My world came crashing down Felt empty to my bones All my friends say they'd pray for me But still I felt alone So I drove off in my car Crying underneath the stars Yet the songs on my radio Spoke to my busted heart In this brokenness I was free That's the moment You became real to me I've danced in the sun I've run through the rain Felt joy take the place Of the sorrow and the pain It took my everything now I believe You became real to me Now my heart is still aching For authenticity But the truth is running deep and wild Beyond what we can't see I've danced in the sun I've run through the rain Felt joy take the place Of the sorrow and the pain It took my everything now I believe You became real to me Hallelujah for the questions and the trials Hallelujah for the road and all the miles Hallelujah for the days of doubt and fear Hallelujah for the things that got me here I've danced in the sun I've run through the rain Felt joy take the place Of the sorrow and the pain It took my everything now I believe You became real to me https://youtu.be/6UP8HwJcfKI