Forever young

Even if you are not turning 50 this month (like someone I know very well :-)), this (quote below) should be a keeper - We should really never get old spiritually - The ideals God sets for us WILL, in the end, keep us forever young!

"Youth is not a time of life - it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of red cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a temper of the will; a quality of the imagination; a vigor of the emotions; it is a freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over a life of ease. This often exists in a man of fifty, more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals."

- Samuel Ullman

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Which reminds me of something 2010 has highlighted for me these last two years ........

"Don't expect your ecclesia to grow old with you - MUCH rather stay young with your ecclesia"

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God is SO great - "Job 33:23 "If there is for him an angel, a mediator, one among a thousand, who can vouch for the man's uprightness;

Job 33:24 then [God] is gracious to him and says, 'Redeem him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.'

Job 33:25 His flesh becomes fresher than that of a child, he returns to the days of his youth.

Job 33:26 He prays to God and is accepted by him, so that he sees [God's] face with joy, and [God] repays the man for his righteousness.

YbiC'ss

Lucas

 

No work for God and Jesus is EVER in vain

The momentum of our Bible classes at the BEC from August has carried well into September. About 8 students attend every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, 4 of them being real regulars now and asking really good and pertinent questions. Questions discussed and scripturally investigated the past two weeks ranged from "where and what is hell"; "what does the Bible teach about praying in tongues" ; does God still speak to us in visions and dreams" ; "The Holy Spirit"; "What happened to Enoch, Elijah and Moses regarding dying and being buried"

 Our work for God's is never in vain. About 5 years ago a lady I knew from our local gym asked me to come and have some Bible study with her and her son who was then in his last year of school. He was worried about what would happen to him when he died and he was not satisfied with the answers he was getting from friends and churches that he was going to. We had Bible studies together for about 6 months and covered a lot of the crucial teachings. After leaving school he lost interest though and I stopped seeing him. Last week he decided to "get back to God" and start going to church regularly. He wanted to contact me but did not have my number – prompting him to go to the gym to find my details there – guess who was about the first person he walks into once there? …… yeah – me. So, he and his girlfriend came to our meeting yesterday and they are keen to live a godly life and get back to some Bible study. We will see where this all leads to but it just reminded me again that the building work we do for God and Jesus is a work of patience and we should not be discouraged if progress might seem to be slow by our standards. It often takes people some time to realize the vanity of life without God and how much better a life it is with God and the sure hope of the resurrection to come.

Our new Congolese brothers and sister in Pretoria continue to meet faithfully every Sunday. Yesterday sister Kiza brought her older sister and a friend to the meeting. Together with bro. Alain's wife and Juma that made the student total 4 and the total number of people at the meeting was eleven. They remain focused and also very series about developing into a more official ecclesia that will meet in a central venue. We continue to pray that God will help us in finding a suitable venue for them.

The fifteen ladies attending the crèche course in Tembisa Township have all been back for week 2 and week 3. Sister Trudy Clark has now joined Leona in presenting some of the sessions and between the two of them they are providing the ladies with quality teaching and a lot of super practical tips and ideas they can use to keep children constructively busy. It is wonderful to be involved in this way where we can make a small difference in helping the community to improve the lives of their children.

Loving greetings from the 2010 team here in Kempton Park

YbiC'ss (Your brother in Christ's service)

Lucas