adminI HAVE not said all I wanted to say on the issue of Pentecostalism and the future of Christianity but would like to wish you all a prosperous new year as we enter into 2015. Adieu 2014 and its now Woza 2015! Note I said woza and not hoza as some retail shop has been saying. I wish somebody had complained enough to get that misspelt word out of the Spar shops! I am very blessed to say to you this day meeting some of you on the streets and receiving your comments was great. I am humbled by the many who continue to read this column and little do you realise that each time some of you meet me and with that wow look say, “Ngikwazela ngaphi kanje? Yaah ephepheni!!!” make my day. Thank you a million times for reading
Talking of reading the paper. One married man was addressed by his wife while he was reading the newspaper . . . “Sekamfana how I wish I was in your arms like the paper you always read so intently!’’ To which the man replied and said . . . ‘‘Suka! Then I will be buying a new wife every other day!” But for you my dear reader, who have been buying this paper all the time to read our articles I should say thank you! Just do not ignore your wives!
But I have a challenge for you this day. How are you going to welcome the coming year? What is it that you will forsake in the last year to do differently in the coming year? What new relationships and choices are you going to make in 2015? So much of this end of year stuff. End of year stuff deals with taking down, packing away, and cleaning up and perhaps some other things. These are the many questions we always ask at this time. For some of us we are entering the year playing the last half century of our lives! I look back at the many near misses when I almost lost the wickets yet Praise God I am still not out. Yes, I will hit a hole in one day but thank God it was not in the last year and I pray it be not soon in the coming year!
These are the words of some great politician during the last world war. Slowly and in his own particular style, he spoke these immortal words:
“Now is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”. Such is my feeling as we stand in the presence of the Lord this Sunday in our different assemblies and places of worship. Yes, 2014 is ending. It is but of necessity the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning. Make your choice and move forward into 2015.
Have you ever read the Bible this way? This is how the Good Word Translation reads, ‘‘Pay attention to this! You’re saying, Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there for a year, conduct business, and make money.” You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.” (James 4:13-15 GWT).
James gets right to the point, doesn’t he? In this brief passage I see three lessons, codified by three simple verbs that are worth remembering as we embark on 2015. The first of those lessons is codified by the verb “surrender” followed by “savour or enjoy” and the last one is “seek.” I challenge you to surrender your plans to God in 2015. Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that will prevail. Commit your way to Him and he will prosper it and bring it to fruition. He will not disappoint.
Secondly, savour or enjoy each moment of 2015 because time is fleeting and you do not hold the keys to tomorrow. That is the preserve of the Almighty. Do not live in 2015 as if you are in a rehearsal. No you are not, you are in the real stage and you have no reassurances of a replay. Have fun. Nxa kusahlekeka hleka! Nxa kusadleka dlana! Nxa kusakhombeka khomba kumbe ukhonjwe, ungagugeli ezandleni zikayihlo kumbe unyoko! Nxa kusathandazeka thandaza!
Learn to thank God for the moment you have with the people that God has placed in your confines. Celebrate them and appreciate them. Give them the flowers while they can still smell them and you also taste the sweets while you still have the saliva and buds to do so. This is your time to achieve all that God has sent you to. Get out of 2014 empty and continue emptying yourself into the New Year. Do not procrastinate, 2015 is not going to be longer than 2014!
Lastly, continue to seek the face of the Lord. He alone has the answer. He has the ultimate plan and solution. Let his face be your focus. In 2015 be known as one of those who seek the Lord. He shall be found of you. Seek God’s heart and will for yourself in 2015. James tells us, “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:15 NLT).
The Apostle Paul says it too and he does so clearly “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT).
I know that you are wondering — how do I know what the Lord wants me to do in 2015? My suggestion is that you search God’s Word! Right there are the answers you need for your life and the direction you would like to take!
There are certain things that God wants all of us to do this year and all those things can be found in God’s Word. Reading the Bible is all about understanding what the Lord wants you to do, who He wants you to be, and how he wants you to live. It is also about knowing and experiencing God in ever-deepening ways.
I could say more but suffice it to say for now. Peace to you! Shalom!
Online Reporter