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by Calven CelliersThis has been a crazy week to say the least. And as the events that beset our country unfolded, I stood dumb founded, not to mention deeply saddened and at times angry, at peoples appetite for destruction, corruption, greed and ability to be stirred to mass hysteria.Many of the citizens in our country have blindly followed others this week, with little thought where all of this will end and the long-term suffering this week’s actions will cause. Before we let others lead us, it’s helpful to know what direction they’re going in and where we’ll eventually land up. I once heard a story about a woman driving through a terrible snowstorm. She was completely lost and struggling under the hazardous weather conditions. She was understandably relieved when she happened upon a snowplow. She decided to follow the truck and kept as close to the machine as she possibly could while it removed snow from the road in front of her vehicle. After some time, however, the snowplow stopped and the driver got out and walked over to her car, asking her, "Lady, where are you going?" Upon hearing her answer, the truck driver replied, "Well, you’ll never get there following me! I’m plowing a parking lot!"Far too many people in the world are following people who themselves have no idea where they’re heading. All too often people are only interested in being in the popular crowd, or jumping on the next big craze, and one day they wake up, like the lady in this story, and realize they've been going in circles for far too long.In Proverbs 3, wise King Solomon instructs us to let the Lord lead us into a balanced life and proper decisions, saying “5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5 & 6KJV)So many of the things that cause us the most difficulty and heartache in life, the source of so much of our anxiety, fear, doubt, and anger with others and with God, is the result of leaning on our own understanding. Our limited understanding can easily lead us astray. Scripture tells us that “25There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 16:25NIV) When we choose to direct our lives according to what seems right to us, we often reap disaster as this week’s events in South Africa have proven. Every person must make a decision whether to live his or her life according to personal preference or according to the unchanging Word of God. It’s one thing to acknowledge God. Many people admit there is a God and even believe that God is good. It’s another thing to submit to God’s authority, obey His commands, and make Him the Lord of one’s life.To ‘lean not on your own understanding’ is really just another way of saying we need to live by faith.“Faith is the most misunderstood word…

by Calven Celliers Not long before his death in 1996, Henri Nouwen wrote a book called Sabbatical Journeys, in which he wrote about some friends of his who were trapeze artists. They told Nouwen that there is a special relationship between the flyer and the catcher on the trapeze. This relationship is governed by important rules, such as: The flyer is the one who lets go, and the catcher is the one who catches. As the flyer swings on the trapeze high above the crowd, the moment comes when he must let go. He flings his body out in mid-air. His job is to keep flying and to wait for the strong hands of the catcher to take hold of him at just the right moment. The flyer must never try to catch the catcher.” The flyer’s job is to wait in absolute trust. The catcher will catch him, but he must wait. “Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about Him for whom we are waiting. Waiting is not a static state, it is a time when God is working behind the scenes, and the primary focus of His work is on us.” (Henri Nouwen)  I love the way the late Eugene Petersen paraphrases the words of the apostle Paul to the Romans, in The Message saying, “24 & 25 …waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.” (Romans 8: 24 & 25TheMessage)  The hardest part of living by faith is waiting on God. We want God to act swiftly and decisively. We don’t want God to work behind the scenes; we want to see what He is doing so that we can be confident in what He is doing. Our natural human reaction when God doesn’t act according to our ideas is that we want to take matters into our own hands. As we see time ticking away, we grow more and more impatient. When time seems against us, His promises begin to look impossible. We feel like we have to act now or miss out. When people feel like they will miss out, they react and interfere with God’s intended purpose. We try to put ‘legs on our prayers’. So, what is it that God wants to do in us during these periods of waiting? The prophet Isaiah says, “31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31NKJV) THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD WILL HAVE INWARD STRENGTH: The people in Isaiah’s day were in captivity, they needed inward strength to give them power over temptation. As Christians God wants us to rely on Him, whatever we are doing. As…

by Calven Celliers In my blog post last week, we considered how Romans 12 is one of those really challenging passages of Scripture because it goes against our very human nature, particularly when it comes to “keeping the peace” with people who are stubborn and defensive and who harden their hearts and resist our efforts to be reconciled. The apostle Paul introduces us to a principle that applies to every situation where we are dealing with such people – never pay back evil with more evil, rise above this tit for tat philosophy. In other words when someone does something bad to us, we are not to do something bad back to them.  Instead, he says, “21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Romans 12: 21NLT) “When he was subjected to intense and repeated personal attacks Paul realised that a true peacemaker is guided, motivated and empowered by their identity in Christ. This identity is based on faith in the most amazing promise we could ever hear: God has forgiven all our sins and made peace with us through the death and resurrection of His Son. And He has given us freedom and power to turn from sin (and conflict), to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and to be His ambassadors of reconciliation. It is the realization of who we are in Christ that inspires us to do the unnatural work of dying to self, confessing sin, addressing others’ wrongs graciously, laying down rights, and forgiving deep hurts – even with people who persist in opposing or mistreating us.” (The Peace Maker – Ken Sande) God has given us divine weapons to use in this quest. These weapons include Scripture, prayer, truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Too many people, these resources and qualities seem feeble and useless when dealing with ‘real problems’, but these are the very weapons Jesus Christ Himself used to defeat Satan. In Romans 12 Paul describes five basic principles that contribute to a victorious offensive and how we can use them with people who we are at loggerheads with. [1] Control your tongue – When you are involved in conflict, you may be tempted to indulge in gossip, slander and reckless words, especially when the other person is saying the same kind of things about you. But if you react with harsh words, you only make matters worse. The challenge for us is to respond in grace by saying only what is true, necessary and helpful. [2] Seek godly advisors – I’ve come to see that if in you’re in a prolonged conflict with a lack of any noticeable progress, one of the best ways to try resolve the issue is to surround yourself with wise and spiritually mature people who will encourage you to stay on a biblical course. Don’t fight these battles in isolation. [3] Keep doing what is right – We as Christians are to continue doing…

by Calven CelliersRomans 12 is one of those really challenging passages of Scripture, that goes against our very human nature. It’s a passage of Scripture in which the apostle Paul speaks about being a living sacrifice. He says don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Added to that he says that we shouldn’t think we’re better than we really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves! On top of that he challenges us to take our responsibilities seriously; don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good; serve the Lord enthusiastically; when God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. And then he writes,“14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. 20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12: 14 – 21NLT)Peace making does not, however, always go as easily as we would like it to. While some people will readily make peace, others are stubborn and defensive and they harden their hearts and resist our efforts to be reconciled. Sometimes they will become even more antagonistic and find new ways to frustrate or mistreat us. Our natural reaction is to strike back at such people, or at least to stop doing anything good to them. And this makes perfect sense from a worldly standpoint. If you hurt me, I get to hurt you.As followers of Christ, however, He has called us to a higher standard. And that’s why the apostle Paul introduces us to a principle that applies to every situation where we are dealing with people – never pay back evil with more evil, rise above this tit for tat philosophy. In other words when someone does something bad to us, we are not to do something bad back to them.  Instead, he says, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” And herein we find the important second part of the principle. We are not to do bad things to others when they do bad things to us because…