JOY! Magazine May 2017

“AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.” -ROMANS 8:28. What a challenging time for our country – but praise God that we, as Christians, can do something – pray. I know that this is sometimes difficult to accept as “all that we can do” but please, unless you have heard clearly from the Lord, don’t take matters into your own hands. We know where our help comes from. God has instructed us to pray in faith, asking anything according to His Will. We need to discipline ourselves to pray as often as we can in a day, constantly committing our country and government to God. Then we need to let God work,…

Looking at the state of the Church today, I often ask myself, “with what can I compare it? What words can we use to describe its present condition?”I always come to the same conclusion: The words that describe much of the church today are found in Revelation 3:14-18, “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’— and do…

Paul in Eph. 6:18 commands the Church “to pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Staying alert and being persistent in our prayers for all believers”. The Church has a saving role to play, but when we slacken or fail in our prayer we must be prepared to accept the serious consequences of a life without peace as promised in “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” – 1 Tim 2:1-2. One of the many visions that the Lord gave me recently was of a pot being thrown down and shattering into…

23 milion Bibles needed in SOUTH AFRICA 5,5% Christians in South Africa still do not have a Bible. The One million Bibles for one million children project kicked off in 2010 Since 1957 CLF has provided Christian literature to various language groups in South Africa and beyond our borders 21,7% of South Africans (about 12 million) live in extreme poverty Approximately 63% of children are raised in poverty Children of God Storybook Bible with stories told by Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu is part of the One million-project. The illustrations include work from internationally renowned artists from different cultures - a true rainbow book. 7 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES Books are available in Afrikaans, English, Sotho, Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Pedi. DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS Bibles were created for different age groups: • God’s…

Recommendations needed I have not missed a copy of your mag in many years now. I can’t wait to buy each copy! The November 2016 issue was particularly full of helpful articles – Thank you!!! In ‘Letters to the editor’ I was grateful to see that I am not alone in being a divorced, single man trying to ‘fit in’ to a church. Without long winded detail, I have struggled to find a place in a church in the last 13 years. I am presently considering resigning from the present one. I have two questions for you, if you have the time. In the light of my preceding comments, can you recommend a reputable Christian friendship, ultimately dating, website that I could join. There are quite a few on the…

I thank God for JOY! magazine and was deeply touched by the interview with Stephen Lungu in issue 05 volume 25. I always have great passion for caring for orphans and vulnerable children and at times I could not understand this passion; people around me tried to discourage me in many ways with things like, “how can I be able to give to others while I myself have nothing”. For years I was trying to establish an orphanage, with no courage, but the passion pressed on so hard. In reading that story I realise that it is also in the mind of God to help the poor and in our country we have many people living in distress and whom God wants us to reach out to. It may not…