Words do matter

 

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never harm me!! A playground rhyme that is very far from the truth. Words really can harm, hurt and break us. But they can also delight us and take us to the highest heights.

Words carry a lot of power/weight.

The world was spoken into being with words.

We need to use our words wisely.

We need to use our words carefully.

Words carry different meanings for different people.

Words can get twisted and misunderstood.

Words create pictures and pictures create emotions.

Words start as thoughts and then can turn into actions

Words affect our whole body and being.

Words can hurt or heal

Words can be filled with love or filled with hate

Words can speak of power, domination and control or they can speak of humility, freedom, vulnerability and consent

Some people say we shouldn’t make so much of words.

Some take great offence over certain words.

People get canceled, threatened and censored over the words they speak.

Others are celebrated for their choice of words.

‘Politically correct’ is a double edged sword

Respect, dignity, attitude and tone are important aspects in the words we choose and use.

Our words can be silenced and our words can shatter silence 

Words lend support and comfort

Words can speak truth or words can speak lies

Words can cut down or build up

Words can be used to invoke for peace and justice

Words can evoke/elicit memories, emotions and sympathy

Words can be harsh and cruel

Words can be kind and reassuring.

Words can inspire or demotivate

Words can bring freedom or restriction

Words can speak life or death

Words can be misspelt or reinvented

Words can be many or few

Words can create stories and write whole books

Words can be both helpful and unhelpful

Words can be remembered or forgotten

Words can describe something brilliantly or make something neutral or dull

“She speaks several languages, including the truth!” Internet comment about the UN Special Rapporteur.
“I heard learning to speak the language of truth is possibly the hardest language to learn.” (An Instagram response)

Words can get us hired or fired

Words help us understand and words can create confusion

Words can be spoken, seen, sung, acted out and listened to

Words can be laced with grace or poison

Words can bring peace or war

Sometimes words are not enough

Words can be put in a poem or a song or a story

Words are how we share our story

Words are how we hear other people’s stories

Languages are spoken through words

Words come in delightful different languages

Words can connect and disconnect

Words can speak forgiveness and they can ask for and offer forgiveness

Words can be inclusive and they can be divisive

Some words can be respectfully avoided

We can always choose a better approach with our words

We can unlearn unhelpful words and relearn more helpful words

We can use our words to bring about positive change

Let us choose our words wisely and carefully.

(First image taken of a child's t.shirt in an Edgars store)

 

That power

 

In church on Sunday the words, 'that power' stood out to me in the worship. God started putting words and phrases and Scriptures in my mind to remind me that his is the power I pray for to bring about the change and peace that we so desperately need in all corners of our earth.

It makes the ground shake
It splits rocks open
It sets us free
It holds back waters
It stands with us, upholding us
It stands strong
It lifts the weary
It moves mountains
It breaks down strongholds
It shatters chains of bondage
It brings manna everyday
It turns darkness into light
The name of Jesus holds that power
It's good to me
It's ever present
Always available
It brings steadiness and calm
Strong enough to let the blind see
Strong enough to let the deaf hear
Strong enough to let the lame walk
Strong enough to raise the dead
That power, that same power
It belongs to our strong, Sovereign and in control God
It belongs to one whose Kingdom is not of this world
That says greatness comes from being a servant
It wins battles for small armies
It has an army of a multitude of angels
It turns mourning into dancing
It turns ashes into beauty
It creates gardens from the soil of death
It overcomes evil with good
It says we overcome by the blood of the lamb
It is the greatest response of love and mercy
It says our testimony holds power
It is an all-consuming fire
It puts God’s very image into us
It works in and through us
It allows us to love and pray for our enemies
To give food and water when they are hungry or thirsty
It allows us to love and welcome the stranger
It allows us to love our neighbors
It says vengeance is mine
It turns bones into armies
It routs enemy armies
It can stop wars
It can confuse enemies
It can hold back armies
It is almighty and victorious
It is a love that conquers all
It says love is the greatest of them all
It advocates for peace
It turns the impossible into possible
It is a mighty roaring lion
It soars and swoops like the mightiest eagle
It turns weakness into strength
This power that was, and is and is to come
It created all out of nothing
It is creative and transformative
It holds our world in place
It causes the sun and moon to rise
It brings the rain upon the land
It sends help in our time of need
We are calling on that power
That is the power we are praying for
It brings victory to the powerless,
to the oppressed,
to the fatherless,
to the dispossessed,
to the displaced,
to the downtrodden of our world
It sits on a throne of justice and righteousness
It's powerful grace is sufficient for us
It leaves us with a peace beyond understanding
That power, that same power,
It has already won the ultimate battle,
It belongs to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Heritage Day 2023

The sermon title at church for today was ‘Stop moaning' 

 I once again saw parallels to life in South Africa. This is the basic sermon outline, points and summary of the sermon with the comments about South Africa being my own reflections as I sat listening, taking notes and seeing the parallels. To hear the original sermon please visit the Lighthouse Family Church You Tube Channel.

So how do we look after our inheritance as Christians?

God had established a covenant with Israel. He had told them what he was going to do and promised this to them. But the people lost sight of this very quickly and they moaned and complained. All they knew was 400 years of slavery and oppression and much trauma in Egypt. Their mindsets were set on lack and oppression. They needed to create a new picture in their heads with what God was displaying in front of them with daily manna from heaven. The picture of what they had previously was still too big in their minds. They didn’t understand what God was doing and they didn’t trust his words and covenant to them. In Egypt they had water and now they had a situation where they had no water. They thought Moses had brought them out to the desert to starve.

Was the past really good that they would have preferred to go back? We know the answer to that is no because in this story we have the opportunity to look in from the outside. But it is what they knew, it was their normal for 400 years and so it was easier to think of going back to what they knew than navigate and trust God through what they did not know. It was risky and uncertain and unknown. But if you keep looking back you may miss what is happening now and then you may also not see what’s up ahead.

For South Africa we have some people longing for the ‘good old days’ when they had electricity and law and order. But that was only a certain sector of the population that had those amenities. Other people under Apartheid rule would not look back and call those days the good old days as electricity, water, sanitation, freedom of movement, education and medical care was not made easily accessible to them and law and order was kept for some at the expense of others. The aim always being to keep them oppressed and under control.

Sometimes going back to what you know as normal can seem easier even if it wasn’t good. Change is never easy even if it’s good and better change, or if it’s change away from comfort to less comfort. It’s hard work to create change and then sustain it. And it’s hard to believe the promises that have been made to you. Trust in God might not be easy, but it’s always for our good. When we take time to know God and his character and dig deep into his word, we can see that he is someone we can trust. We have to be intentional to move towards the new and realise that it might take time for our brains and heart to catch up.

In this story, an entire generation died in the desert because of all their grumbling and moaning. They did not trust God at his word. There was rebellion, disobedience, and unbelief. God said he will start with a new generation who will listen and believe.

I wonder what God has promised us for South Africa? Where are our mindsets? There sure is a lot of moaning and grumbling and rebellion, disobedience and unbelief.

Do we want to be a part of what God is doing in our land? Or will we die out as the current generation without seeing ‘the land of milk and honey?’ Will it be the next generation who get to see it? Do we want to see the change or is it easier to carry on with what we have because it’s normal and what we know and maybe it feels too risky to make the changes that are necessary? What do we need to do to turn things around?

Sometimes delays cause us to be cynical. We trust and then we are disappointed. Our hearts become critical. We say ‘so far and no further!’ Judas made a comment about the perfume used on Jesus’s feet that sounded spiritual but was so far from it - ‘that money could have been used for the poor!’

We have similar comments in South Africa around a number of things, one of them being the cost of street and town/City name changes. A timely conversation as there’s a new road name right now in Johannesburg. The poor are often brought into this conversation. Although it must be said that the same people were not advocating for the poor before a new name change was on the table. Sometimes we need to look at the bigger picture and ask a few questions. Have we asked God about the name changes? Do we think to pray about such things? Do we realize that maybe it’s a part of the process of creating the new even if to some it may seem unnecessary, wasteful or uncomfortable?

Maybe Jesus hasn’t acted in ways that we hoped for. Maybe we are fixated on the wrong things? We need to be careful with our hearts, to guard them. Stuff will go wrong and this can put us off. Our faith can get knocked when we pray and pray and pray and the ‘mountain’ doesn’t move! We see obstacles and think ‘I can’t do this!’ or ‘I can’t carry on!’

These comments can come from so many angles in South Africa. There are those who have been asking for centuries, ‘How long, Lord?’ How long will the oppression last? When will things change to make lives more equal? There are others who focus on corruption and economic woes and they wonder how long they can continue. Some choose to leave South Africa for other shores.

Joshua and Caleb saw something different from everyone else! They didn’t focus on the giants and what could go wrong, they saw the land that had been promised to them and they chose to believe God and that he was with them and they were not alone in this battle.

What can we see differently? Especially if we look through God’s eyes. What does he want for South Africa? What are his promises for everyone to benefit? What wrongs need to be put right? What changes need to happen for the future to function well for every South African?

Our unbelief won’t get us very far. It will just get us into further trouble. When we don’t believe God will do what he said we are treading on dangerous ground. Is it a case of giving up and getting out?

God tells us something very different. He says keep trusting, keep praying, stay the course, every prayer takes a stone down in the walls that need to come down. Don’t stop way short of seeing what God will do because he has so much more. We need to stay in the fight and see it through to the end. We are more than conquerors through Jesus.

Doing things in our own strength will tire us out, get us into trouble and leave us ineffective. The Israelites couldn’t wait for Moses to come down the mountain and speak out what God had said to him. They became distrustful and impatient with him and chose to create a golden calf to worship. We cannot create God into what we want him to be. We cannot do what we want. We would be basically following ourselves and God says we are to have no other gods beside him. We follow Jesus, not ourselves or others. If we get impatient and choose to step into God’s decision making space, he won’t go with us and we will lose. Disobedience won’t bring his blessing. There are always consequences for our actions. Let’s not miss his purposes or his best for our lives. We need to trust and keep on trusting. Hold onto him and let him have the final say.

Imagine Jesus coming back and asking us, ‘did you love me with your heart, mind, soul and strength and did you love your neighbor as yourself?’ and our answer is, ‘no Jesus, we are still stuck on who is my neighbor and how do we love our neighbors as ourselves!’ I am sure he might ask, ‘did you read my word at all? Did you do what I did? I showed you how when I was here on earth.’

So what do we do? We trust him and we keep on trusting him. Let his praise always be on our lips. Create new patterns of ‘trust and obey.’

His Kingdom comes through us. That’s a heritage worth celebrating.

Walking in freedom personally and communally

Freedom - the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. (Oxford Dictionary.)

We had a series at our church recently on finding freedom and staying free. In the final sermon on the 27^th Aug 2023  I saw some parallels to walking in freedom in our country. (This is the basic outline, points and summary of the sermon with the comments about South Africa being my own reflections as I sat listening, taking notes and seeing the parallels.) For the original sermon please visit the Lighthouse Family Church You Tube Channel.

There are 2 battles – to get free and to stay free.

Getting free – from sin, from something holding you back. It’s an ongoing journey.

Staying free – this is warfare and skills are needed to stay free. We need to know what weapons to use. We need to keep watch for the enemy. We need to occupy territory. Don’t quit. Keep on pressing in. We need the desperation to stay free. Don’t give up. Be determined and committed. Push through.

These steps are all very practical and biblical. They are things of the kingdom of God.

Sometimes freedom can be elusive – some people express that they are scared of what they will expose if they pursue their freedom. This is a lie from the enemy to keep you in bondage. God is always gentle and gracious and often peels off in layers.
The past does continue to affect you. Trauma might not be healed. Trauma revisits forward.

The long hands of Apartheid are still reaching from way back in the past and into the future. We need to be able to accept that trauma is different for each person and just because we don’t see or experience trauma in a particular area or way, it doesn’t mean that others don’t! People of Colour living through Apartheid lived through incredible trauma. Many People of Colour still live through ongoing trauma in our country today. Physical or legal freedom may have happened through the laws changing, but emotional, social and psychological freedom are still an ongoing process for some people.

A comment made by someone says ‘we are not free until we are all free’, so there’s work to do for each and every South African. Different journeys, but same outcome of a free and fair country.
Often freedom is a process. The fix needs time for your body to catch up, and there will be lasting change if you walk in the right stuff for a lengthy period of time. Some need recovery and freedom from trauma inflicted on them, others need recovery and freedom from inflicting trauma on others. One good decision after another. Healing will come.

Sometimes the enemy gets a hook into us. Sometimes it can be easy to miss because we forget about small incidents that take hold of us and get stuck in our memories. So, if you are not seeing victory, ask God to reveal what the root is. Take the sting out of the triggering memory. Ask yourself, where was Jesus in the traumatic memory? Ask him to remove the hook or the root. Everyone’s story, trauma, root, triggers, fears and concerns will all be different, but they all need dealing with.

What’s the root behind Apartheid? What are the lies? So then, what is the truth? What’s the process going forward? The way out? What are the areas of vulnerability going forward? What causes the fires? The violence? Some things can be dealt with personally, but where things are systemic, it will require greater involvement from more people. There may be a need to require those in authority to write new policies into being. Once things are properly dealt with, remind yourself going forward that you have dealt with this. The ongoing work will be the mindset changes towards the new and united vision for all of us. The internal work will be visible in the external behaviour changes by all.

1. Understand what has happened
Be alert always. Our enemy never plays fair. He will always look for areas of vulnerability to exploit. He will keep trying his luck repeatedly. He will wait and he will come back again. He’s never finished trying to take us down. 

In South Africa he will go after those who have been exploited to try and keep them from even thinking they can gain freedom and he will go after those who have exploited others and have not repented and those who think everything is fine when it’s not. Our enemy wants to keep divisions in place because this serves his purpose well. He will always be about ‘steal, kill and destroy!’

What are the areas of vulnerability in our country? We need to know his schemes. How can we stay alert collectively? What are the steps to take when this happens?  Remember your victory is yours to maintain.

2. A set back is just a setback
Don’t go back to the beginning. Get back up again. Celebrate the gains. The enemy will try reminding you that you are not really free. Don’t listen to his lies. Remember you are forgiven in Christ Jesus.

Look how far we have come in South Africa. Yes, that’s true AND we are not at the beginning again, AND we do still have some new beginnings to make AND maybe there were some false starts or incomplete starts. There’s still work to be done. But we can keep getting up after the failures and starting again.

3. Don’t go back
Listen to good advice. You may need to step away from some people and places. But do not go back to where you have walked away from. The enemy will be waiting. Don’t enter into the enemy camp.

Where’s the enemy camp in SA? Where is the enemy camping in SA? What is his modus operandi in our country? Don’t go back to what? How are we going back into spaces that are not helpful for people in our country? When the demons from the past are ignored and not addressed, they will return repeatedly. When he has hooks in, that area won’t heal. He knows he can use it, which is why we need to be alert to his schemes. He will keep South Africa in bondage because it works to his advantage of steal, kill and destroy. So where are we blind to these schemes? What are we not seeing? Where are we being used as part of his plan? Remember our battle is not against flesh and blood (it’s not against people), but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) He will try and distract us with our focus being on the enemy of political power. We do know that our enemy can absolutely use people to carry out his schemes, so let’s make sure we are not being used by him. He’s so subtle with his plans for destruction. He will always be looking for opportunities to manipulate situations to his advantage. We need to be very alert to his lies and schemes.

4. Fill your heart with the truth
When a lie is exposed, we need to replace it with the truth.

In South Africa some interesting things to note about the Truth and reconciliation commission that took place many years back. It was first about revealing the truth of what happened, and then only can we start to have the hope of reconciliation taking place. Not all truth was revealed because only a segment of people were involved in the commission. There’s still work to be done. There’s acknowledging of lies and truth that needs to happen.

Where there is true reconciliation, there will be unity too and that will bring true and lasting peace, not just peace like a plaster that covers a wound. Deep work and deep healing are needed. Darkness will tremble when the saints join in one song. Then all the streams flow as one river. Then brokenness will be washed away.

The enemy is getting us to fall for lies all the time in SA. Seek to know the whole truth about our past. Freedom is our inheritance in SA. For freedom he died to set us free.

The truth of South African history will help expose lies in our country. It will sustain freedom in our country. We spot the fakes by delving into the truth. Do the hard yards. Do the work of finding out and learning. Embrace God’s word. Embrace each other. How has the enemy played out his mandate of steal/kill/destroy in South Africa? Leave no stone unturned in the fight for freedom.

5. Planting seeds, growing trees (this point is not in the original sermon)
What are the seeds planted long ago in South Africa that give us the tree/s we have today? What is the fruit? We have cause and effect playing out – a seed grows into a tree. The tree produces leaves and fruit. (Andre Henry). But we can plant new seeds and grow new trees with new leaves and new fruit. Seeds can be buried and out of sight, but they grow. “Those who promote peace, have joy.” Proverbs 12:20

Where there are strongholds it’s often a lie that has been believed for years and it’s a journey to battle through to fight for the truth. We do this by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:1, 2. It might take a while to work towards freedom individually and collectively. We need to stay in the fight until victory comes. We need to always displace the lies with the truth.

I had a picture recently of a bathtub of water with the water being the lies, and this big heavy block of truth was dropped into the bathtub and all the water gushed out, all the lies were displaced.

 In our country there is much we don’t know about our past and even the present. Stay curious. Find out the truth from a variety of sources and people. Displace the lies. Keep telling yourself the new truth so your mind can take it in and transform the brain pathways. We don’t want to be a host to the enemy that could be any part of keeping our country in bondage. Let’s not partner with any lies. But in order to get this right we also need each other to see all there is to see. It will take courage, humility, vulnerability and interdependence. But it will lead us towards an excellent future, one we have yet to see, one with real freedom for all. Keep talking. Keep learning. Keep leaning in to listen and really hear people.

No safe spaces

 I find myself writing to help me process things. This week has been really hard. It's been a week of being exposed to other people's suffering. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for them to live through these experiences. Earlier in the week I had heard the story of 2 young children beaten with a belt by an older teen. They had the bruises to show. This happened in a home setting. Trying to use the correct reporting channels proved frustrating, time consuming and was met with little compassion as there were literally death cases to deal with at the same time in the hospital casualty. 

Then today was hard too. We have a bi monthly meeting with a few children who live on the streets. We are busy taking them through the Protective Behaviours programme in the hope of arming them with some skills to be safer on the streets. 

Only one of the children arrived today, but they left before the discussion time. There were 2 adults there today who are also living on the streets. We decided to go ahead with the conversation  talking about our theme "We all have the right to feel safe at all times."

We started talking about safe people and safe places. There were a few people mentioned who would be seen as safe people and then when we moved onto safe places, the answer was - there are no safe places! Without any hesitation that was their answer. Can you just for a moment imagine that in your own life, to not have anywhere where you feel safe. The constant anxiety and trauma must be overwhelming. We spent the rest of the time just hearing about their lived experiences on the street. It broke my heart and made me angry.

The one man has been beaten up on multiple occasions  and has had his ribs broken, so that when he tries to lie down at night he battles to find a position that feels comfortable. Remember the ground is hard, there's no soft bed. The people who have beaten him are security personnel who patrol the area at night!! He has woken up to 3 men standing over him and then been beaten. He, along with other people have their possessions taken from them on a regular basis, often by law enforcement in their mandate to 'tidy up the area.' I have seen this take place before. It is heart breaking to see the few things a person owns being taken away to be burned or thrown away. I can almost guarantee that they would battle to get attention if they had to report beatings or any mistreatment to the police. 

People in the area suggest shelters as an option, but shelters are very often full or carry a daily charge which many people who are homeless or houseless do not have. We desperately need more shelters to alleviate some of this crisis, but where will the funding come from? There is a group of people in Gqeberha who have been working towards this end, but their progress has been halted due to lack of funds.

I have attended Crime Forum meetings, and yes we all agree that crime is not ok and we need creative ways and many people involved so that everyone can stay safe. Hopefully we also agree that poverty, unemployment, hunger, abuse and homelessness are also not ok and that solutions are needed for this too. There are no easy fixes. But I am so tired of the existing solutions on the table of chasing people out of the area so that they are not visible to those who have a problem with them, of humanity being stripped of people by calling them vagrants and bag scratchers, of accusing those on the street of all the crime and drug dealing, of illegally beating people up (I am on my local neighborhood watch where recently someone publicly, and boastingly declared how they had a sore wrist from beating up some people who would not leave the area, because 'violence is the only language they understand.'), of threatening businesses and churches who step in to help with food and clothing, of stealing their few possessions from them and of having so little or no compassion for human beings who are clearly suffering. We, as fellow citizens, need to do better. Let's start with humane conversations and restoring dignity to people in the way we talk to them and about them. There are many small things that could be done to relieve some of the pressure they are living with. I am also sure there are many big things we can do to lobby for policy changes that would better the lives of those with less in our country.

(Thank you Cornel West for your words above and Gracious Quotes for the post.)

Jesus calls us to more, always more.

 

(This poem was written specifically thinking about people who land up living away from their homes or are without homes, people always on the move who find places to live and sleep in many different spaces. Many people would prefer they were not there and so they are often treated very badly by citizens, security personnel and the police. I am aware that not every poor person is jobless, homeless or without hope. But Jesus calls us to care for the poor, the lonely, the sick, those in prison, the fatherless and the widows. Let's change things around. Let's lift people up. Let's create next steps and build a new future together that we have yet to see. There's lots to solve, resolve, sacrifice, rebuild and make new. Let's keep going and keep hope alive.)

 Them and us.
Does that sound like Jesus?

Always begging. Always wanting something.
Watch out! Be careful!
They only understand violence.
My wrist hurts from the slap I just gave.
They picked the wrong person today.
I‘ll show them!
Don’t come and try that here!

Does that sound like Jesus?

The poor you will always have with you
Weary, hungry and maybe smelly.
A reminder to always care
To always be aware.

Don’t turn the other way.

Them and us
Does that sound like Jesus?

Good news! Good news!
Read all about it.
Hear all about it.
See all about it.
It’s good news. Good news.
It's for the here and now.

The poor you will always have with you
Tired, abused, cast aside.
A reminder to always care
To always be aware
Commissioned to share.

Them and us.
Does that sound like Jesus?

From the shore
He calls us to more.
Deeper and deeper
And deeper still.

Good news – read it, hear it, see it, feel it
Celebrate it
Let it be seen, heard, tasted, felt and smelt.

The poor you will always have with you
Jobless, maybe homeless, sometimes hopeless
A reminder to always care
To always be aware
Commissioned to share.

Choose compassion over convenience.
Choose cheer over fear.
Let’s not leave Jesus hungry or thirsty.
Be filled – let’s find you some food.
Thirsty and cold? Let’s get some coffee.
Do you take sugar and milk?
Do you need some warm clothes or a blanket?
Can I kneel and wash your feet,
Out here on the street?

Represent the King and represent him well.
Generous and some more
He always calls us to more.
Bring light
Bring life
Be his hands and feet on the street.

Did they pick the wrong person today?
Don’t turn the other way.
Stop to talk
Come close, embrace body and soul.

The poor you will always have with you.
Addicted, confused and maybe sleeping on the streets
A reminder to always care
To always be aware
Commissioned to share.

There are things to do.
Always something we can do.

The poor you will always have with you
Men, women, children and babies
Sickness, violence, hurt and shame
A reminder to always care
To always be aware
Commissioned to share.

Re-humanize.
Open your eyes.

The image of God on display
Restoring dignity everyday
Restoring choice
Releasing power
To empower
The next step
A brighter future
Filled with hope
God comes near
Go in peace
Eased of pain.
Clothed in love.
Warmed to the heart.

(Graffiti picture taken at St.Alban's Primary in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape from an Isuzu sponsored event. Artist signature is visible.)