issue 17: the clouds issue

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AUGUST 2010

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This issue has been another great example of how God inspires and guides the illumin8 team. I would never have thought we could get so much out of the theme 'Clouds', and yet here it is! We have a wide range of articles, from a variety of writers and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

AUGUST 2010

Page 2: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

illumin8 - Edition 14 - February 2010 Cover designed by: Leanne Rhodes

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illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010 Cover designed by: Leanne Rhodes

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Page 3: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

This issue has been another great example of how God inspires and guides the illumin8 team. I would never have thought we could get so much out of the theme 'Clouds', and yet here it is! We have a wide range of articles, from a variety of writers and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. To start off with Senzo is back after a few months break! He brings us another of his characteristic thought provoking pieces, which you can find on page 6. (Coach) Col has branched out from sport for a change and has moved into the sphere of movie analogies, in 'Cloudy with a chance of meatballs' on page 5. Then we have a fantastic poem which was submitted by Grant Christie, featured in our Cre8ive Corner. Grant has also collaborated with Scott in 'Storm clouds - dealing with anger'. And David has once again illustrated how much God teaches us when we turn to nature.

1 Designed by: Leanne Rhodes

editor’s noteeditor’s note

From a more feminine point of view, Leanne tell us about her Happiness Factory on page10. Suzanne looks at the clouded judgement of the Pharisees and shows us how we can avoid falling into the same traps. Finally, I took a stroll down memory lane and came back with some thoughts on the inner workings of a family, which I have shared in 'Handling the Hailstorm As the weather warms up and we all await those first spring rains, let us remember to trust in the Lord, who is always present and working in our lives, even if, like water vapour, we aren't aware He's there. Have an auspicious August!

Dear Reader

Lucy

illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010

Page 4: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

2 Designed by: Leanne Rhodes

SEND US YOUR COMMENTS:

Email us at [email protected]. Use this address to send us feedback, submit testimonies & to ask us to add you to our mailing list.

Visit www.illumin8.co.za to download past editions of illumin8 & check out our latest posts.

For daily inspiration, news and updates follow us on twitter. Visit https://twitter.com/illumin8ezine or go to www.illumin8.co.za.

illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010

The following message was sent to the illumin8 team following the

release of the first Flashlight Flare on June 17th. It really gave me a totally different perspective reading the Flashlight Flare and

it's so good to see the words relating to the current situation. It's so true that it is

easy for us to be so enthusiastic when things go right but when life turns around

we are called to be the ones that still smile and shine as little lights no matter how

we feel or how hard that can be. This applies not just to the soccer, but our

everyday struggles at times...work, finances, taking loved ones for granted etc.

I must say I was really inspired reading this Flare and the verses that came with it to be encouraged and

to encourage. Also, just to force a pause in our crazy, busy days to reflect and know where we are

heading and what is most important in life. It's so easy for one to become disillusioned with all the

negatives and 'wanna haves' in this world and we lose focus of the many simple blessings our Great

Dad has given us!

With much love all the way from Melbourne. Still Proudly South African all the way!

Sindhu

Page 5: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

One of my deepest wishes is that one day GOD will say to me, 'Well done my good and faithful servant' (Matt 25:23). However, I was reading my Bible the other day and came across a passage where Jesus is reprimanding the Pharisees and it made me add an addendum to my wish…please may GOD never have cause to say such things to me:

Matt 23:2-4 'But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. You brood of vipers…you blind guides…you hypocrites!'

These are just two examples, but Matthew 23 is full of similar comments which give us an idea of the extent of Jesus' thoughts about the Pharisees. But what exactly did the Pharisees do that was so wrong?

In the Psalms there are verses which describe the law in a very surprising way: it revives the soul; gives joy to the heart; the laws are precious; wonderful; gracious; delightful. This paints a picture of law as life-giving and guiding, rather than restrictive. We grow up believing that rules are there to inhibit us and are merely a whole number of 'thou shalt nots' established to destroy our fun. In reality though, GOD's law was given to enable us to live life to the fullest.

The Pharisees did not understand law in this way. There are many examples of the Pharisees watching from the sidelines of Jesus' ministry and pointing out what they perceived to be faults (Luke 6: 1-3; Luke 6: 6-11; John 9: 16). They thought that by catching Jesus out in doing wrong, they would undermine His authority. In their opinion, doing the correct thing gave power and status. For thousands of years the Jewish teachers had been debating the law laid down by Moses in order to establish a code of

1. They misunderstood and idolised the law

conduct that would honour GOD. It was good intentions and a desire to honour GOD through actions that motivated these debates. However, along the way many of the 'teachers of the law' placed a higher value on the laws (and the rules the leaders added) than on the LORD who first gave them to Moses.

Matt 23:27-28 says, 'You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.' Wow, these are cutting words! I think Jesus was saying they missed the heart of the law: Matt 23: 23 'You have neglected the most important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.'

The Pharisees felt that their high-standing was due to their own actions (Luke 18: 11-12). They were godly because of following the letter of the law. Now picture the thousands (literally) of rules that had been formulated over the centuries and feeling like your salvation was

2. They were more concerned with appearances than reality.

3. Self righteousness

based on getting everything right?

By Suzanne Barrett

illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010 3 Designed by: Wanja Focaraccio

Page 6: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

I actually feel sorry for them – imagine the pressure of feeling that your salvation depends on every action! This explains why they were so concerned with appearances – if you feel like getting it right is impossible; then surely the next best is to at least look like you are getting it right.

After reading Matthew 23, I thought about why it would be that Jesus would be this critical of someone and I came up with the above 3 points. I then thought: 'No wonder Jesus would be mad. These people were concerned with such unimportant things and overlooked the good GOD was doing. They were so self-righteous and judgemental!'

Pause. Light bulb!

That thought above sounded very much like self-righteousness to me. These were not the words of a sinner saved by grace – grateful for her Saviour without whom she would not be alive! Sometimes the biggest obstacle in our thoughts (and our walk with GOD) is our own sense of righteousness.

We all err in the manner the Pharisees did – sometimes I think we have little Pharisees in our hearts who endlessly criticise us and those around us. We feel that to stand up in church we need to have it all 'right'. We feel we need to hide parts of ourselves. No-one can possibly measure up to the standards the internal Pharisee sets and they place our actions in the position of 'saviour' in our lives.

So where to from here?

Chew on the meaning of grace. My belief is that the more we understand what grace means; the more the voice of the internal Pharisee will be silenced. Jesus came to fulfil the law (Matt 5: 17). He paid the price so that our actions no longer save us – His actions have already saved us. In this light we know that appearances do not matter – what matters is the state of our hearts and whether they are in right standing with GOD.

My hope is we may worry less about what is right and wrong and focus more on daily seeking our gracious Father.

Psalm 19: 7 Psalm 19: 8 Psalm 19: 10; Psalm 119: 72 Psalm 119: 18 Psalm 119: 29 Psalm 119: 70 and 77

(Continued)

illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010 4

Page 7: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010 5 Designed by: Louise van der Westhuizen

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lessons from aboveThere are a number of things I find fascinating about nature. I love walking in open spaces when I go home to Kwa-Zulu Natal and breathing in fresh air. I always stand in awe of the rich sunsets we are blessed with. I often crank my neck up to catch a glimpse of the glistening heavens at night. I've also had the unfortunate pleasure of flying above a storm. While it was a bumpy ride I saw how majestic some of those pillars of clouds are. Inevitably when I stand in awe o f t hese na tu ra l wonders, I f ind myself thinking about some aspect of God.

There are three things I want to highlight about clouds which teach me something about God. The first is (as much as I shouldn't admit this) that I still look up and make out shapes. I think most of the time I see bunny-shapes, no idea why that is! I think the lesson here is how we must allow God to shape us like a potter takes a lump of clay and spends time making it into what he has envisioned prior, even, to beginning. We must give God our hearts and allow Him to shape us as He wills. We must give Him our minds and our all and allow Him to shape us as He wills.

Secondly, let us learn to go where we are directed, just as the clouds above go where the wind directs them. Sound familiar? Jesus tells Peter in John 21 that there will come a time when he will be like a cloud (not His exact words). If we want to fully experience a life worthy of the Name of Christ, we must learn to obey and submit to Him whose Name we bear. Clouds don't argue with the wind. The wind blows and they go. Imagine what the

world would be like if all those who claim to be Christians actually spent time listening to where God was calling them and, like Isaiah, to ask no questions but simply respond by saying, 'Here I am, send me!’

Finally, if we truly and sincerely allow God to shape us inwardly and obey Him as He sends us outward, we will be to the world like fresh spring rain is to a dry and parched land. There is no denying that the world we live in is like a desert, crying out for something good. Guess what? You and I have the Good News in our hearts and on our lips to live out and to tell the rest of the world.

Be encouraged to bring taste to a world that is bland, be light to a world that lives in darkness and to be refreshing rain in this dry and parched land.

Clouds don't argue with the wind. The

wind blows and they go

illumin8 - Edition 17 - August 2010 6 Designed by: Leanne Rhodes

From Senzo's Desk ..............................

Page 9: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

I love the mountains where I live. They are the northern extension of the great Drakensberg range. I appreciate their magnificence and their permanence. They have been here for thousands of years. Compared to them, my life is insignificant. Yet they are not eternal, they have been through changes and the erosion of wind and rain has made their rugged beauty. But the finishing touches are often provided by clouds.

Clouds can obscure, like thick fog, but clouds can also reveal and enhance the natural landscape. They can bring rain, snow, hail and lightning. And in the Bible, sometimes God is presented to His people in a cloud.

The mountains are the barrier between the Lowveld and the Highveld, two different climates. As moist air is blown by the winds and is forced upwards by the mountains, sometimes the invisible water vapour condenses and forms clouds which sit on the mountains. At other times, the clouds fill the skies. The result can be a transformation of the beauty of the mountains. I have seen clouds which resemble a blanket of snow on the peaks, and even a glacier in a crevice, as if our mountains were as high as the southern Drakensberg.

The highest mountain is Moholoholo, 'great and mighty', which is also a name of God, and there are times when I have seen a cloud on its summit like a crown on the head of the king. It is also called Mariepskop. Once I was driving along and saw the mountain partly hidden by a thin veil of cloud, as if to say 'I am known by faith, not by sight'. In rainy weather, the clouds may part to reveal the mountains, and when this is accompanied by the glow of the setting sun, the result is spectacular, and of course, one never has a camera handy! But that doesn't prevent you from giving praise to God. The mountains can be completely hidden. But they are still there, just as God is always

there, even when we cannot feel His presence.

Clouds are much more than a meteorological phenomenon. I see them as signs of an almighty

Creator who is never finished making beauty. They are an ever-changing part of His

creation, constantly shifting and showing us new elements of well known sights. All we

need is eyes to see His work and hearts to praise Him.

By David Bertram

7 Designed by: Wanja Focaraccio

Page 10: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

When I was 12, I experienced one of the most dramatic storms of my life. At the time we were living in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg.

Dark clouds had been gathering for some time. Thunder had been rolling, and the flashes of lightning were getting closer together with each passing minute. We waited and waited and then suddenly the storm broke. The sky seemed permanently lit up by sheet and fork lightning. I wrapped my jersey tighter around me as the thunder boomed and cracked with enough force to rattle the windows. We sat huddled on the couch, staring out of the window as the hail began...it didn't stop for at least half an hour.

By the time the storm abated, our garden had been transformed. Living on the South African Highveld, snow is not something we experience but suddenly everything was white! The ice had piled up in drifts against the walls. Our pool was a mass of floating hailstones, a few centimetres deep. My brother and I dressed up in a strange combination of whatever we hauled out of the cupboard first and set off to explore. We spent hours in the park down the road frolicking in this new landscape. And we weren't alone! The drama of the storm had surpassed all other priorities and most people were outside assessing the damage. This is just one of the countless memories I have with

my family. A month ago I was fortunate enough to spend a week in the UK with my parents, brother, aunt and

cousins. We always have a wonderful time together, with much playful banter. But serious discussions were also had

and this led me to start pondering the nature of the family while I cruised above the clouds on my flight home.

The family is designed to be a support structure. It should be a network of relationships based on trust and respect. It is designed to be an environment that nurtures us. In our families we learn about ourselves and relationships. We teach, not just as parents, but as children to. We should be able to find acceptance in our families, regardless of circumstances. In some cases this is true. Sadly, in many, it is not.

I cannot think of a single family that doesn't have issues of some kind. The very nature of the family means that it has the ability to hurt us the most. Our family members are closest to us and we are therefore at our most exposed and vulnerable in our relationships with them. Rifts in families can be caused by single events. A traumatic experience, an unexpected death, a betrayal of trust, a divorce, abuse of people, substances and power; all of these things can cause division. Far more insidious though are the conditions that arise over time.

In countless movies and books today, the main character is all 'messed up' because of family. While I don't for a moment believe that families are the 'root of all evil', I do think that a lot of our hang ups can be attributed to our interactions with our relatives. This is not because they are bad people; it is simply because they are probably the people who have the largest

“You do not choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.”

We should be able to find acceptance in our families, regardless of circumstances. In some cases this is true. Sadly in many, it is not.

- Desmond Tutu

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impact in our lives. If we consider the lifetime of experiences we've shared, we will see that there have been countless opportunities for the enemy to attack us. These footholds can be insignificant when they occur, but the key here is time. Like compound interest, the smallest seed of anger or bitterness can grow and spread until it has become an undercurrent for all our reactions towards individuals or circumstances.

To illustrate the point, I'd like to share a recent breakthrough that God guided me in. For the past few months, I found myself experiencing an inexplicable irritation towards a certain member of my family. I could not understand it as I love this person and really want to have a good relationship with her. I prayed about it and God showed me that it was rooted in an incident that happened five years ago. Because of it I distrusted this person since. In short, I was distancing myself and our relationship simply wasn't growing. I hadn't thought about this event for years, but when God opened my eyes to it I could clearly see that my irritation towards her was a result of a refusal to forgive on my part. This brings me to the heart of it all. Our families have the biggest impact on who we develop into. In many ways this is positive but as we've seen, negative can creep in as well. It is therefore crucial that we practice forgiveness in the family context. We may try to build barriers but families are intrinsically linked. There will always be connections and if these are affected negatively, they can hold us back for our entire lives if we do not forgive.

Forgiveness is something that we need God to help us with. One of the reasons we struggle with it so much is because we think that by forgiving, we are letting the person off the hook. But here we come to the crux of the matter, because forgiveness is not an act of justice, it is an act of love. Firstly we need to ask God to show us the root of the problem. We then need to ask God to help us forgive that person. This will be a process. It will not happen overnight. But it will get easier if we consistently chose to forgive. And it will be much simpler if we ask God to fill us with His perfect love, that love which can transcend any wrong doing or injustice.

Hailstorms don't happen often. There are a whole lot of factors that need to be present and working together before the right conditions are present. Firstly you need a huge cloud, packed full of water vapour particles which join together to form droplets. Then you need an updraft of air. This movement of air picks up the droplets and carries them up into the highest reaches of the cloud, where it is so cold that they freeze. The air then moves down the outside of the cloud, carrying the little frozen mass into comparative warmth. This causes more droplets to gather on the outside of the stone. Up it goes again, and this new layer freezes. Over and over this process occurs and layer upon layer, the hailstone gets bigger. And then suddenly the scale tips – the stone is now too heavy and gravity pulls it towards earth. It gathers speed as it falls and by the time it smacks into the ground, it has potential to do a lot of damage.

Every little incident in our past that we have failed to forgive can be thought of as a hailstone. Whenever we get together with family, these stones of unforgiveness gather until there is a huge cloud hanging over the gathering. We might all be smiling and laughing but there are undercurrents of trepidation, and little droplets are being added to those stones almost without us realising it. If the scales tip, destruction can result. But if we chose to forgive, consistently and repeatedly; if we ask God to fill our hearts with love, then we can dissipate this danger. Like the wind that scatters the storm clouds on the horizon, forgiveness removes the hailstones from our hearts, one at a time. And from there we can enjoy those Sunday afternoons with family that stretch out before us, under a banner of blue sky and sunshine!

FORGIVENESS is not an act of justice, it is an act of love.

9 Designed by: Leanne Rhodes

Ed's note: This article touches very briefly on the concept of forgiveness. For more guidance, illumin8 recommends 'The most powerful prayer on earth'. It is written by Peter Horrobin and published by Regal Books, Ventura, California, U.S.A (2004)

Page 12: Issue 17: The Clouds Issue

My phone rings! What a pleasant surprise - my mother-in-law is in the area and would love to pop in for tea. This is indeed a welcome distraction to my somewhat solitary work day. With tea in hand, we start chatting and soon find our conversation turning to God and what we are currently learning and dealing with. After a while she suggests that we pray. Now, prayer time with this lady is very special as she helps and guides you to really see and hear from God. She starts off with a prayer and then asks me to picture Jesus in my mind. As I close my eyes I find myself in a field and Jesus is right next to me. He is HUGE – much taller than your average human. He looks at me with warm loving eyes and I know he is happy I am there. My mom-in-law then asks me, ‘What is he saying?’ and for a long time I hear nothing. I start feeling awkward, as we just stand there, as if am doing something wrong. She then asks me to do something else - to listen to His heart. I tentatively approach him, put my ear on his warm chest and close my eyes. I am suddenly whisked away to a magical land I have seen many times and giggle to myself as I realise it is the Happiness Factory from the Coke ad! How bizarre. I haven’t seen this ad in ages.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, it starts with a young bearded man inserting a coin into a vending machine. The camera then follows the coin as we are transported behind the plastic face of the machine into a fantasy world that is wonderfully unique and beautiful beyond imagination. The coin

rolls down the mountainside and dramatically splashes into a waterfall. We are suddenly introduced to the empty coke bottle (the main character in this tale) carried by three plump flying bugs. The bottle is dropped into a tower and filled to the brim with the dark bubbly liquid we know as Coke. It is then smoth-ered with kisses from a group of cute furry creatures as the bottle cap is catapulted into place. A giant hand sends the bottle on a track through a tunnel into an arctic landscape. Here it is cooled as snowmen are sent through a snow blower. As the bottle drops through a hole to its next destination a friendly little worker waves it farewell. The bottle falls into a skyscape and is carried onto a moving walkway. The grand finale has arrived as a stand of little creatures cheer and jump in elation at this incred-ible creation. It’s a full blown celebration with cannons shooting confetti, as the little Coke is sent off into the world.

I find myself unable to comprehend the happiness that is filling my heart. I feel as though I am on a massive, fluffy Cloud 9 and all my concerns and issues are completely gone. Could this really be God’s heart for me? Am I really the little Coke bottle?

to view the Coke advert, please click

here..

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I immediately took my mom-in-law to my computer and we You-tubed the ad. It was just how I remembered it but somehow it held far more significance now. I was seeing it with completely new eyes. Through it I could see what God thinks of me and how He treasures and nurtures me. More importantly, how much He loves me - and even when I am empty and have nothing to offer Him, He will fill me to the brim with bubbles and joy and nurture me into something that can refresh the world. After spending time with God, the little Coke bottle that was empty and useless is transformed! The beauty of this message is that it was perfectly suited to me with my crazy imagination and love of Coke. You see, God customises His message of love so you will be able to understand it and experience it completely!

You may think ‘Fine, He loves her like the happiness factory but He can’t love me that much or at all’. But know this is not true for it says: ‘This is how God showed His love for us: God sent His only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.’ 1 John 4:9-12 (Message).

And even though He displayed His love so evidently here He wants to continue showing it to you today.

I realised something profound on this day. I started thinking about humans and how we react when we are loved. You need only to look at the dreamy eyes of a newly-wed couple to see what I mean. You can catch them humming to themselves and walking with a skip in their step. In this state there is no room for irritation, anger or jealousy as their hearts are filled with an intoxicating joy!

Then I thought about a question I often get asked, ‘How are you always so cheerful and happy?’ I think I am finally able to explain. I can be joyful because I know without a doubt that I am loved. Not only by family or friends, but with the eternal unfailing love of my Creator. The more time you spend with God the more you will experience His love, the less doubt you will have about your flaws and the more you will be able to share your faith with others. Ask God to take you to the Hap-piness Factory of His heart and KNOW that you are loved.

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12 Designed by: Louise van der Westhuizen

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Black Stars, Black Stars shining bright Holding high the African light Across cultures and borders you've made us one But you fell in a contest you deserved to have won A villain came to bring you grief But not a man, the eternal thief The one who comes to kill and destroy But we cannot let him steal our joy Our hope, we cannot let him take For there is far too much at stake In the midst of the heart ache of a nation Brotherly love has soared with elation This continent you have caused to unite And for that unity we must now fight In days gone by we'd not even greet But now our hearts, as one they beat So let our hatred now grow tame And put down the fuel of our angry flame For truth be told, if in his place Many of us would plead his case We must look forward and believe The immensity of what we can achieve With hope and unity, joy and love A glimpse of eternity from above Black Stars, Black Stars shining bright Holding high the African light Across cultures and borders you've made us one That is the victory you have won

Creative

A poem inspired by William Blake and the Black Stars, the foot-balling “Tygers” of Africa

Black Stars, Black Stars shining bright

BY GRANT CHRISTIE

corner

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