ABRAHAMISAACJACOB

&meet the patriarchs

Published by the RCSAISSUE 1September 2013 R 10,00

meet the editorial team because they believedhow to follow Jesus in the digital agein

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What is in the Newsletter of Crossroad? A list of events for the youth of the RCSA. Who writes the Newsletter? Anneke at the Kruispad-office When do you receive the Newsletter? Every two weeks How do you receive the Newsletter? In your Inbox of your e-mail account How do you subscribe? On our facebook page, Kruispad or on the web-site, www.kruispad.net or write an e-mail to kantoor@kruispad.netPlease phone or write to Anneke and tell us what you think: 018 297 3986/7, anneke@kruispad.net.

Karin Bain EDITOR IN CHIEF Editor of Kruispad and Crossroad Married to Ronald Bain Mom of two children: Kenneth (13) and Abigail (2)

Anneke van der Walt TASK FORCE Designer of Crossroad Married to Louis van der Walt

WRITER: Rasea Molefe

Marieke Aucamp MOTIVATOR Translator Doing her Masters at the North West University

Ds. Charl van Rooy DIRECTOR Chair person for the Youth Deputies, Minister of the Reformed Church Randburg

The Editorial Team

WRITER: J.C. Potgieter

WRITER: Kalebo Mohotsi

Subscribe to our newsletter

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The Patriarchs. They are our fathers. We are of one family in Christ, the family of the covenant. Through the study of their lives we learn about God and about His promises to us.

Pray with us for our brothers and sisters that are persecuted for their faith. The two articles of Open Doors give us a beter under-standing of what they are going through.

Go watch the movie: To save a life – and tell us what you think by writing on our facebook-wall: Kruispad or sending an e-mail tored@kruispad.net. You will find the review in our reviews section.

Enclosed in Issue 1 you will find a pamphlet with the E100, a Bi-ble reading plan. We hope you will use the reading plan to read through the Bible and share with each other what you learn about God.

Red@ Crossroad

When you finished reading Crossroad, please send us an e-mail or phone us with your feedback. This is a pilot to see whether our English brothers and sisters want to read a youth magazine, written for Doppers by Dop-pers.I believe the Lord has shown me his grace by giving me the opportunity to write, compile and design Crossroad. May the glory be to God.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE!” - Philippians 4:4

The Lord blessed us and made the way smooth so that we may publish the very first Crossroad – the copy you are holding in your hands. It has been a roller coaster ride to get it ready for you. We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. May Crossroad help you grow in your faith in Jesus Christ. We hope the magazine finds you well and that you will be encouraged in your faith journey.We hope you will enjoy the very first issue of Crossroad.

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IN the history of Abraham it is all about the question: What is faith? None of us can say or know with certainty what the rest of this year has in store for us. Most of us would really like to bring our needs to God and ask his blessing for it. I would like to be successful at work or school this year. I would like to im-prove my financial situation a little. I would like to ... I would like to ... I would like to. Many believers see faith this way. Faith is, according to a lot of us, a trust in God so that He will meet our needs.

When we take a look at the his-tory in Genesis 22, it starts in a very strange way. God says He wants to tempt Abraham. We can also trans-late this with: He wanted to test Abraham. And most of us know that a test is not something nice to go through. Exams are naturally some-

thing negative to us. Tests remove you from your comfort zone. But nothing in this life can ever be like the test that God planned for Abra-ham. God shocks Abraham with a strange, incomprehensible and terrible command. We hear how God, loud and clear, tells him: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering ... ” (Genesis 22:2). Can you imagine how that words must have upset Abraham?

We can not even start to imagine all the questions that must have raced through Abraham’s mind. Questions that any weak human would have asked: “How can God expect something like this from me? Didn’t Sarah and I receive this child from God in dependence on Him? Didn’t God promise me a

Because Abraham

- Werner van der Heever

BELIEVED ...

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ham’s words: “Even though I don’t understand, I ask, I beg – I know – the Lord will provide.” But even with this faith that God will provide, the painful road was still ahead. Cutting the wood, loading the donkey, trav-elling through the desert for three days – every step must have been agony for Abraham. And still, in spite of his pain, faith did not forsake him.

After three days of walking, we read that he left the slaves and the donkey behind. But listen to what he says to the slaves: “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you,” (Genesis 22:5). Ages later, the writer of the book Hebrews – inspired by the Holy Spirit – understood what had happened here. In Hebrews we hear that the writer says: “Abra-ham reasoned that God could raise the dead ...” (Hebrews 11:19) With this God tells us through his Divine Word that Abraham held onto his faith in the Almighty God of heaven and earth – who has power over death.

And therefore, even though Mo-riah was right in front of him, he could – like David many years later – say: “I lift up my eyes to the moun-tains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord

great nation? How will this be pos-sible if Isaac is not there anymore? How can God ask such a terrible thing of me?”

Still, we know that Abraham was God’s faithful servant. Maybe he said to himself: “God promises a big nation, but perhaps, with this com-mand of Isaac’s death, God takes a different route to fulfill his promise. God never breaks his promises.” In Genesis 12 God also called Abra-ham for something very big. He commanded him to move away from where he lived, without Abra-ham knowing where he would end up. And Abraham could testify that God always provided – why would He not provide again this time? But why such a radical command? Why offer his son? Isn’t this com-pletely unthinkable in our times? Back then an offering was the sym-bol of the highest price that could possibly be paid.

God’s purpose was not in the first place the offering of Isaac, but the big spiritual offering that Abraham had to make. Isaac was everything to Abraham and with this com-mand, God actually asked Abra-ham whether or not he is prepared to sacrifice everything for Him.

Someone said the other day – and this might as well have been Abra-

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...” And when Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb they have to offer was, Abraham said: “God himself will provide ...”

Yes, God did provide. Abraham names the place where he had to offer Isaac, God provides.

But we also know about another Person who had to walk up another mountain in Jerusalem. The eve-ning before He had to walk up this mountain, He sweated blood. And the following day, when He had to walk up Golgotha with so much physical pain, the worst pain that He had to suffer was the knowing that his Father was not going to provide. There would be no ram in a thicket. God was not going to call out “Stop! Stop everything that is happen-ing!” But Jesus Christ became the One who walked up the mountain lonely and alone, so He could pay the highest price. The apostle John, who stood next to the cross, sid in his epistle a few years later: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us,” (1 John 3:16).

Can we even start to imagine such a sacrifice? What God asked of Abraham, He consciously did himself. He let his Son endure all the pain and suffering, so people like us would never have to go

through that kind of suffering. Nev-er again do we have to walk up a mountain and wonder whether God will provide. And because of that, even though we don’t know what lies ahead of us, we know that God will provide. We know that He is al-ways in control.

Therefore, faith is not primarily trust in God to provide for our needs. Faith is trust in God that, whatever happens; He is still in control and He will support me. He is heading with his kingdom and with us as hu-mans, even though I don’t always understand the way this road is going. Faith is knowing that I am a building-stone in his kingdom and that He will mould me so I can be-come part of his work, even though this asks sacrifice and sadness. It is not always easy to say this and real-ly hold on to it. We will all write a few life tests again in the future, but the question is whether or not we will be able to say with Abraham: “God will provide.” We can, as Christians, look past Golgotha – to the empty tomb. Christ became the complete offering for us. On the mountain Golgotha He came to show us that God provides. We must be aware that God will sometimes take us from our comfort zone to test our gratitude.

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THE whole of the history about Isaac is characterized with laugh-ter! Not only does he receive the name “Isaac” (which means “he will laugh” in Hebrew), but from the whole of his life, even before his birth, laughter was sounding.

His history starts with God’s prom-ise that He will make Abram “into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). Our God is a God who wants to have a relationship with people, so his blessing (saving presence) can be-come visible on earth. Many years pass, but nothing happens. Abram and Sarai still have no children. Abram is disillusioned and disap-pointed. God did not fulfill his prom-ises and now it bursts (reproach-fully?) from Abram’s lips: “You have given me no children; so a servant

in my household will be my heir,” (Genesis 15:3). Once again God confirms his promise and even ex-tends it: “Abraham’s offspring will be his own and his offspring will be as many as the countless stars in the sky,” (Genesis 15:4-5).

In Genesis 16 we hear some-thing like a hopeless sigh: “...Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no chil-dren.” She then makes a suggestion (Abram agreeing ever so easily) – a solution for this crisis, or should we rather call it a solution of unbelief? “Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” God speaks to Abram again however: “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.”

Because Isaac- Charl van Rooy

BELIEVED ... ... Son of laughter

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God’s promises of blessing are ex-plicitly bound to someone that will be born from Sarah (and Abraham). This announcement seems too im-possible to be true for Abraham – he laughs! “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’” This is a laugh that lies between faith and unbelief – it is also an expression of the ten-sion, frustration and impatience that he had to live with for so long!

And then the climax of the se-ries of birth promises follows when three visitors (angels as messen-gers of God) appears to Abraham again (Genesis 18). “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent ... and “laughed to herself”. Once again a laugh of unbelief! The impossibility of hav-ing a child at their age makes this announcement laughable ... for her! When God confronted her about her laughing, frightened and em-barrassed she denied it: “I did not laugh.” ... But He said: “Yes, you did laugh.” Yes, this was the sceptical laugh of unbelief!

But is anything too unusual for God? Sarah’s laugh of unbelief of a year ago is now described as a laugh of joy! Isaac is born, exactly like God promised! Sarah’s re-sponse in Genesis 21:6: “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this, will laugh with me.” All the other people take part in this joy and laugh with her, because what was humanly impos-sible came true! The name Isaac, the “son of laughter”, will rather re-mind the generations to come of God’s faithfulness than of his par-ents’ unbelief!

This laugh of joy, however, is quickly changed into a tremendous sadness! Shortly after this, God comes to Abraham with a terrible command: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love — Isaac — and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offer-ing on a mountain I will show you,” (Genesis 22) There can be no un-certainty or ambiguity about it – it is the “son of laughter”, for whom they’ve waited for so long! One can imagine Abraham’s bewilderment: “But, oh Lord, why? What about your promise?” Yet the Bible does not tell us anything about this! The events

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are told short and undramatical-ly – get up early, load the donkey, cut wood ... and go! Maybe we can imagine something of the tensed si-lence – words getting less and less between father and son, the ques-tioning expression on Isaac’s face: “Father, the fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham’s all too calm answer: “God himself will pro-vide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

Abraham’s answer does not mean that he rather lightly hoped that God wasn’t serious about the com-mand. No, actually he already “of-fered” Isaac at this moment – in his heart! How could he do this? Abra-ham remembered that Isaac was the “son of laughter” – the laughter of God’s faithfulness and reliability! His faith was now focused on God who can raise the dead to life – like God was responsible for Isaac’s birth from Abraham’s “own body, already dead, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (literal translation of Romans 4:19)! Abraham’s faith stood the test – he showed that God alone is enough for his faith; and not only what God gives (Hebrews 11:17-19)!

God provided a sacrificial lamb in Isaac’s place on that day! After that Isaac’s life was the ideal example of someone who lives in a relation-ship of faith with God! Abraham took care of that. He made sure that Isaac married a woman from his family in the land of Haran, and not a girl from the heathen Cananites (Genesis 24:3, 4). Such a marriage (with an unbeliever) could cause Isaac (and his children) to forget God. And when his wife, Rebecca, also was childless (like his moth-er Sarah), he turned to God and prayed ... and God heard his prayer. They were given two sons, Jacob and Esau. Isaac believed in God’s live-giving power!

God took care that Isaac’s history was recorded in the Bible, so you can also be a son of “laughter”. Not the “laughter” of a sceptical know-it-all. Not a “laugh” from unbelief. But the “laughter” of joy about the faith-fulness of the faithful God, about the life-giving power of God that can create life from the deadliness of the circumstances that surrounds you, about God Himself who will make the blessing of the plan of his salvation for your life true – through Jesus Christ!

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IN Genesis 25 – 36 (except for chapter 26) we read the history of Jacob, Abraham’s grandchild. He is the child through whom Abra-ham’s lineage was continued – and he is therefore also Jesus’ great great great grandfather (on Jesus’ human side). When you read this history, you see big problems im-mediately! Jacob is a deceiver, he acts in such a way that some people ask: “Should such terrible stories be recorded in the Bible?”

Jacob, the deceiverIn the Old Testament times people

gave their children names which said something about the parents, the children or the circumstances during the child’s birth. Jacob’s

name was related to the word “heel” because of the fact that he was the second of a twin pair. He actually held onto his brother’s (Esau) heel when they were born. This, howev-er, is also related to a word that can mean “deceiver”! It is especially this side of him that was revealed later in his life.

God already told Rebecca (his mother) that he (Jacob) would be Isaac’s main heir. But he (and his mother) weren’t satisfied. He wasn’t prepared to wait for God. He want-ed to take matters in his own hands. God was too slow for him. First he misused Esau’s hunger to make him sell his birthright as firstborn for a plate of lentil stew. After this he went to extremes (the skin of a

Because Jacob

BELIEVED ... - Braam Krüger

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goat around his hands, and so on) to make his old, blind father think that he is Esau – and so Isaac bles-sed Jacob with the blessing of the firstborn. After this he himself is de-ceived by Laban – who doesn’t let him marry the daughter that Jacob worked for for seven years, but the other one – and Jacob gets back at Laban (his father-in-law) by tricking him and getting more sheep than he should have.

Yes, Jacob really is a deceiver. Quite a few times he had to flee from people who wanted revenge. He lived in fear of his twin brother. One of the most important lessons of the history of Jacob is that one can trust God. When He makes promises, He keeps it. When you take matters in your own hands, it is actually a sign of little faith. Lets be more practical. Everyone wants to be happy. But of-ten we are not prepared to wait for God to bring the right times, people and circumstances on our way, and then we follow our own plans to get that happiness – this way we do wrong things; we get the wrong boyfriend/girlfriend, we make the wrong plans, we gamble so we can quickly become rich, and so on.

BethelIt is exactly here where we find

him, in Genesis 28:10 – during one of his flights. He is fleeing for his life. His brother wants to kill him because he got the rights of the firstborn in such a treacherous way from Isaac. That night he falls asleep, exhausted, and dreams. It happens a lot that someone dream about the things that are on their mind – one would expect that Ja-cob had to dream about things that were chasing him, of death and such things.

But he dreams about something totally different. This is a dream that is given to him by God – it is not from his own spirit. We know the dream – not a ladder, but a big staircase joins the place where he is sleep-ing with heaven. Angels are going up and down the stairs. God is pres-ent here – not because it is a “gate-way” to heaven, but because He is revealing Himself to Jacob here. He makes Himself approachable. La-ter a sanctuary (small church) was even constructed there.

It is precisely in this contact be-tween God and Jacob, that the most important lesson about God is revealed: It is not because of Jacob being such a wonderful person that God comes to him. Jacob wasn’t even very sorry about his rashness and all the sins he commited in the

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process. No! God comes to him while he is a terrible sinner. Why? Because it is God who chooses us, not we who choose Him. This is also the case with me and you. He chooses us, and makes us hear his voice calling for us. Sometimes through believing parents, some-times through friends or other family, sometimes even through a magazine like this one. Luck-ily we don’t have to be holy crea-tures before He calls and chooses us – no, He takes us just as we are.

Your stairsNow you can ask: “Where are the

stairs to heaven in my life?” In He-brews 1:1&2 the Bible says:

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spo-ken to us by his Son ...”

God is approachable through Je-sus. The Holy Spirit works in us, to make us understand that Jesus is the “stairs” to and from God. This is not something that was devised by

humans, but worked in us by God!

How Jacob ends upThere is not enough space to tell

everything about Jacob. His life af-ter Bethel still wasn’t a life of wis-dom and obedience. Years later he had to fight with an angel of God at the Jabbok River. There his name is changed to Israel – the name of God’s special nation, which means something like “God’s fighter”. Yes, from this sinful man – the Bi-ble sketches him with all his weak-nesses and sin – the nation that Jesus is born from emerges. In He-brews 11:20 we see

“By faith Isaac blessed Ja-cob and Esau in regard to their future.”

Jacob knew that God keeps his promises – and therefore he gives blessing to his sons – with the know-ing that God will do with them what He plans. Whatever your history is/was, God also wants to make you a fighter for Him. Will He also have to struggle with you like He did with Jacob? Or will you learn from Ja-cob’s mistakes and make the right decisions?

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IN 1955, a young Dutch missionary went on a group tour to Poland, at that time, a part of the Soviet bloc. There he discovered a remnant of the Body of Christ desperately in need of Bibles, support and prayer. Brother Andrew (as he would later be known around the world) distributed a suitcase full of Christian literature … marking the humble beginnings of Open Doors.

In God’s Smuggler*, Brother Andrew’s autobiography chronicling those early years, he details dangerous border crossings smuggling Bibles and his courageous journey toward living radically for Jesus Christ. The international bestseller has made a tremendous impact on Christians in the West. Through the book and the work of the Holy Spirit, Brother Andrew’s small Dutch mission became an interna-tional ministry with offices in 27 countries, working in more than 45 nations to strengthen the persecuted Church.

It is estimated that Brother Andrew has visited 125 coun-tries in his travels to preach and befriend those in need. During his trips, he never had a Bible confiscated and was only arrested three times. He often quotes Revelation 3:2 as the text for his message delivered around the globe: “Wake Up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die.” This is the same verse God used to call Brother Andrew to strengthen the persecuted Church, which he first encoun-tered in the Soviet Union all those years ago.

To quote Brother Andrew: “We have to strengthen what remains, what is ready to die. Ready to die? Ain’t nothing I can do about that. Strengthening them, I can do every-

Brother Andrew God’s Ambassador for Over 50 Years

- God’s Smuggler Honours God for his Adventure-filled Journey

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thing. Now I must go provide the things they need. It will always first of all be the Word of God. It will al-ways be based on this book [the Bible]. It will always be for the Glory of God.”

He often has said, “Our very mis-sion is called ‘Open Doors’ because we believe that any door is open, anytime and anywhere. I literally believe that. Every door is open to go in and proclaim Christ, as long as you are willing to go and are not worried about coming back.”

Brother Andrew’s work through Open Doors has led the organisa-tion into places where most Chris-tians are unwilling to go. His un-derground network of indigenous Christians has aided in the secret distribution of millions of Bibles ev-ery year. Open Doors trains thou-sands of Christian pastors and lay leaders through seminaries and persecution seminars, and assists in economic relief, literacy training, and vocational training in the most dangerous countries in the world.

The story of Brother Andrew’s min-istry in the Middle East is told in his book, Light Force, co-authored with Al Janssen. He has also written ten other books, including God’s Call (formerly God’s Calling), which re-veals his secrets for ministry and is

illustrated with his experiences ac-cumulated during over 30 years of ministry in countries such as China, Sudan, and Cuba.

He also co-authored a book called Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ*. The book contains incredible sto-ries of Muslims who have come to Christ and details their struggles to survive in repressive lands.

In 1994, Brother Andrew was knighted by Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands. In 1997, he was the re-cipient of the World Evangelical Fel-lowship’s Religious Liberty Award, recognising his lifetime of service to the persecuted Church and passion for spreading the Gospel. On Feb-ruary 22, 2003, in California, he re-ceived the Heritage of Faithfulness Award from the Christian Associa-tion of Senior Adults.

When asked a few years ago how he would sum up his life, he cred-ited God’s power in his life by an-swering: “I’ve done what I couldn’t.”

Brother Andrew and his wife, Cor-rie, live in Holland and have five children and eight grandchildren.

*For more information about Open Doors or to order some of Brother Andrew’s books visit our online store at www.opendoors.org.za

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YOUTH COMMITMENT is putting oneself

under a particular obligation, acting upon what you set forth to achieve in life. We can relate to commitment in different ways since we are com-mitted to a lot of things. Some of them very important, some of them very destructive yet it is commit-ment whether positive or negative.

You can relate to commitment in what you do, in your school, studies, and your job or in church. The suc-cess of what we do in life becomes clear and visible in commitment, our directions and choices are in-fluenced by what we are commit-ted to. We achieve the best in life through our level of commitment to them.Has anybody successful in life made it without commitment? Commitment thus motivates you to persevere through the process of working toward your goal, and develops that strong desire for suc-cess. Most of us as young people have an idea of what we want to be

and achieve in life, and we put our-selves under a certain form of ob-ligation to say; “I will become what I set out to be and commit myself unto that goal”. Therefore irrespec-tive of the choice of career or inter-est, we need to show commitment love and passion for what we do.

Where does a Christian’s commit-ment come from?

From the Holy Spirit! There is no way that I can have passion to serve the Lord if is is not from the Holy Spirit. God makes me to love Him and to serve Him. The million dol-lar question we thus face is whether we do not have the Holy Spirit if we are not committed to serve the Lord. This should be a question each and every youth may ask him/herself should he/she be unwilling or lazy to serve the Lord with commitment.

How do we commit? We are sometimes committed

COMMITMENT- Kabelo Mohotsi

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to things because of the love we de-velop for it and our determination in achieving certain goals. At times we are committed because of what we are taught and what we observed as important in life. This commit-ment is driven by the fact that we all want to be successful. We want to look proudly at ourselves and say I did it in life against all odds. We can commit ourselves by making a de-cision as to what is important and what we love that can be benefiting factors in our lives.

What we value in life, what we want to become, how we want people to see us, influences how we commit ourselves to what we want. Is it natural for a person not to have any commitment? Or hav-ing nothing worth valuing? This is most unlikely because everybody is born with a desire to be something, which leads one to commit yourself to become that which you desire.

In church you might ask how you can commit yourself to the youth or the church. How can I change my perception about my church and become more committed? These are questions that we often ask our-selves.

Our commitment is led by our love and passion for Christ and His Church. If we lack the necessary

desire for the Lord, our aim of being committed to the church is highly unlikely. What Christ has done for us on the cross, cleansing us from our sins and reconciling us with the Father, should lead us into be-ing committed unto Him and His church.

Living a life of thanksgiving and appreciation as young people be-cause of what our Lord has done for us. Our commitment to the church in particular should be visible and appear and be seen as a way of thanking God for what he has done. David says in Psalm 27:4.

“One thing that I ask from the Lord, that I seek, is that I should dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

From this portion of the Bible we get an example of someone who was committed unto the Lord. His aim and passion was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. His commitment overwhelms him, drawing him near to his goal and keeping him focused on what he wants and deems important in life.

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Benefits of commitmentEvery committed person has

something positive to say at the end. Commitment and dedication always pay off. We can look at the story of David, a young boy and a mere shepherd of his father’s flock. Yet he was committed, loved and enjoyed what he was doing. His work was not a pain to him and thus helped him to compose a great number of songs which are record-ed in the Bible. These psalms were an expression of joy. He was com-mitted and God saw that. God even called David the man after his heart.

David eventually became king of Israel. He was committed to a small flock and God saw a commitment that can even extend to being of great impact to His people. What was seen as small was eventually regarded as big.

When we are committed in small things, God eventually lifts us to big-ger things. If we fail in small things, how can we be entrusted with great

things? Commitment has mani-fested itself in an extraordinary way, David was not from a royal family, nor did he expect at all to become king and yet God made him one.

A committed sportsman, singer, teacher or pastor is always appreci-ated for what he does because of the commitment s/he shows. Our Lord was committed in exercising the will of God, to its fullest. When He responded to a question about him not eating He said:

“My meal is to live out the will of my Father who sent me.”

It becomes clear that whatever successes we want to achieve in life, should be driven by commit-ment.

Whatever I commit myself to, should be inspired by the Holy Spirit and driven by the desire to serve the Lord and not the self!

Answer the following question:WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK: TO SAVE A LIFE?

Send the answer to kantoor@kruispad.net or post a comment on our facebook page.

The first to answer correctly will receive the book: To Save A Life.

*This competition is sponsored by CUM books Com

petit

ion:

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THERE is no escaping it – every-where we go these days we are being bombarded with informa-tion. Whether it is on your mobile telephone, computer screen, tele-vision or tablet, we are never far away from finding out the latest news and making sure that we are in the know. The world has become a much smaller place, as we can share ideas and information with the press of a button. For example,

I can now sit and talk with my sister in England and keep in touch with her through Skype and WhatsApp, almost as if she is just living next door!

Certainly, many good things have come from technology which we can enjoy and use in the service of God’s kingdom. But, we need to be aware of some of the dangers that come with them. As a result, we need to ask ourselves – what does

- JC Potgieter

Following Jesus in the

Digital AgeHow do you follow Jesus in a Digital World?

My name is JC Potgieter, and I am currently training at the North West Universi-ty’s Theological Faculty to become a Preacher/Bible Teacher/Minister (which-ever you prefer). I lived in South Africa until I was 11 years old, before emigrat-ing to England with my family where I went to high school, and completed a BA Hons degree in Economics. I have been back in South Africa now since January 2013, and enjoy playing cricket and squash, as well as keeping up with the latest economic developments in South Africa and around the world.

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following Jesus in the Digital World look like?

Be aware that technology brings both risks and opportunity

Our lives in the digital age will always be surrounded by technol-ogy and screens, and the tempta-tion is to think that every new digi-tal device will make our lives much better! But, we can easily become blinded to the dangers that technol-ogy brings. Facebook, as example, has meant I can keep in touch with friends when I am at home and find out what everyone is getting up to. But how often has facebook not meant that I spend more time on my own, looking at the photos and walls of other people in order to keep up to date with what is tak-ing place in their lives, rather than spending time with those friends in reality? Social media can also be a means in which we reinforce our natural tendency to make idols of

good things where we, for instance, turn to facebook to find comfort/meaning and deal with our frustra-tions rather than offering them first to God in prayer (see Philippians 4:6)

Or, when chatting with friends at school, we now keep checking our cellphones to make sure we are not missing out on anything else that could be more important, rather than concentrating on the friend in front of us. How often have you not been talking to someone, only to have them disengage from the con-versation to find out what their latest text message said, or to ensure that no one more important has tried to contact them?

The Digital Age has transformed our lives from one where we com-municate and engage with people face to face (in reality) to one where we communicate from the comfort of our rooms/behind closed doors. We spend less and less time with

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people, particularly anything that would lead to friendships/relation-ships becoming too intimate. How should followers of Jesus live in this kind of world?

In the world of Jesus people spoke in person to each other

There were some scrolls that spe-cially trained men read aloud, but for the most part, if you wanted to know what was happening, you had to go and spend time together with people. It was only by spending time together with people (physical-ly) that Jesus was able to teach and love them.

Rather than throwing out the tech-nology available to us (as some suggest), we should make sure that we are aware of the risks that come with it. A simple principle we can apply as we use things like facebook and cell phones is – am I using this technology to spend more time together with people (in

reality), or am I only using it for en-tertainment/to satisfy my desire ‘to be in the know’? How can I use this technology to best serve Jesus and help make him known to others?

Following Jesus in a Digital World means:

» we will be aware of the risks and opportunities that social media bring » we will make use of so-

cial media (facebook, twitter, whatsapp and text messag-es) to build relationships, and not merely for entertainment » we will not substitute

face to face time with people, for communication from the comfort of our own home

In the next edition of Crossroad, I will further explore what following Jesus in the Digital age might look like! Feel free to send ideas/sug-gestions to anneke@kruispad.net.

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MILLIONS of Christians around the world suffer persecution as a result of their faith in Jesus Christ. Every minute of every day, the possibility exists that our brothers and sisters in Christ could be beaten, thrown in jail or even forced to lay down their lives … just because they follow Jesus!

In countries like North-Ko-rea, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria and so many more, Christians do not have the freedom we have here in South Africa to openly live out our faith. Many of the Christians living in these countries are not even al-lowed to own a Bible!

Open Doors is an interna-tional organisation that aims to strengthen, equip, encourage and support persecuted believ-ers. And Underground is the exciting youth division of Open Doors.

Underground’s vision is to in-form young people about Chris-tians that are being persecuted for their Christian belief. We also challenge the youth to join in and pray for the persecuted Church and to take part in all our exciting projects like ‘Black-out’, ‘Shockwave’, ‘Walk in their shoes’ and ‘Lock up’.

For more information on what Underground is all about and how you can get involved, please visit our website at www.opendoors.org.za and subscribe to our FREE Underground Newsletter!

Contact Us:Underground, P.O Box 1771, Cresta, 2118Tel: 011 888 9341 E-mail: undergroundsa@od.orgWebsite: www.opendoors.org.za

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NIGERIA

Gabar lived in the town of Tafawa Balewa. He liked

to play football with the other children in his village. They loved to

play, sing and dance. But one night, the dancing stopped.

On the 6th of August 2010, police came to arrest Christians in Gabar’s town.

When other Christians came to ask why they were being arrested, the police

opened fire. Gabar’s friend described what happened. “When the police opened

fire, Gabar was shot in the stomach and he fell on the ground. There was blood

everywhere, all over his body.”

Gabar died of his injuries a day later. He was only 13.

Lord, we pray for children in Nigeria who are devastated by

attacks on their communities.

EGYPT

Mustafa* and his wife have a son called

Amir*. Amir has to live a double life. At home he is free to love

Jesus, while at school he has to keep quiet about Him. His friends want him

to go to the mosque, but because he refuses, they shun him.

In addition, his grandparents are Muslims and have turned against their son

(Amir’s father), even causing the police to arrest him on one occasion. The in-

cident traumatised Amir, who was only three at the time. The stress of being a

secret believer has taken its toll on Amir. Thankfully, Open Doors has been able

to provide him with trauma therapy.

Lord, we pray for Amir and all the children who are iso-

lated at school and by their peers, because

they are Christians.

Pray for Secret Children from around the world!All over the world, children are persecuted because they follow

Jesus. They face rejection, ridicule, rejection and isolation … Read some of their stories here and please pray for them!

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If we just turn things upside down

we can’t know God and feel his presence

I would be lying to you if I said that

the Almighty wants to be your Father

that God has a plan for your life

that He wants to know you

that you are wanted

that you can be loved

but you must know

you do not deserve any of this

And I am convinced of this

because I know the heart of man

we are forever separated from God

I refuse to believe under any circumstance that

we could be loved by God right now

because of our dependency on Christ

we have lost the connection to God but

there are so much more that you don’t know

this is “the truth”

God is holy and we are not

you should know that exactly the opposite is true

You should know that exactly the opposite is true

God is holy and we are not

this is “the truth”

there are so much more that you don’t know

we have lost the connection to God but

because of our dependency on Christ

we could be loved by God right now

I refuse to believe under any circumstance that

we are forever separated from God

because I know the heart of man

And I am convinced of this

you do not deserve any of this

but you must know

that you can be loved

that you are wanted

that He wants to know you

that God has a plan for your life

the Almighty wants to be your Father

I would be lying to you if I said that

we can’t know God and feel his presence

if we just turn things upside down

This is a lieThis is the truth

SITES TO VISIT If you want to watch a movie and want check the content and quality before you watch, try this site: movieguide.com. It is a great site for Christians who enjoy movies but don’t want to watch movies with profanities and obscenities and a lot of other vices. The owners of this site review movies according to Chris-tian principles. There is even a movieguide.com app for smartphones and tablets.

An award-winning Christian youth site with free teen de-votions, movie reviews & vi-deos. Read about teen topics, Bible, pop culture, theology & more. Not all the articles are according to our reformed tradition but you can read a lot of inspiring articles here www.fervr.net.

Vertical Thought is an internet magazine that strives to serve up relevant content to help young people from ages 12-22 discover and live God’s way of life. Thinking vertically is a chal-lenge God offers all of us. Even though we human beings are presently temporal, flesh-and-blood beings, as Christians we are empowered to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is,” and to set our minds “on things above” (Colossians 3:1-2). Vertical Thought exists to help you not only think about, but act on, these things from above - the things that are really most important in life. Apply what you read and you can have a better life now as well as in the future. Remember: as one “thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

Our own website. If this maga-zine is a success we hope to develop an English extension so that you can visit us here and read everything in English – wouldn’t that be nice?

JAKE Taylor has everything in life. He is popular at school, has a beautiful girlfriend, lots of friends and a basketball bursary. When his childhood friend, Roger, brings a gun to school and shoots himself, he starts to question everything.

Roger had nothing to live for, while Jake had everything. Could he save Roger’s life? All these questions has an impact on his life. It puts a strain on his relationship with his girlfriend and his other friends and at home all is not well. Is this worth it?

I was sceptical about To Save a Life, be-cause I thought it would be just another Christian movie. Usually Christian movies are known for the bad acting, low produc-tion costs and a boring story line. It is not the case with this movie. The story grips you from the beginning to the end and the acting is professional.

To Save a Life tackles a lot of issues and it is done in such a way that there are a cohesion of everything. The issues in-clude cutting, premarital sex, teen preg-nancy, drug use and so forth. It all leads to the theme: it doesn’t matter what your situation is, God loves you unconditionally and He always helps us. The problems of Christians don’t disappear, but we look at

Director: Brian BaughSamual Goldwyn Films,2009PG

To Save a LifeREVIEW:

it differently and change out lives according to God’s will.

There are some obsceni-ties in the movie but it makes the movie more real. With all these issues you must realize there will be some scenes that will shock.

To Save a Life is a excep-tional Christian movie that take it’s place next to any Hollywood movie. The mov-ie let you think: “Is there any-one in your life that need you to talk to?” Do not postpone this conversation! Here is a movie you need to watch.