Table of contents for June 2018 in JOY! Magazine

“Don’t allow anything today or tomorrow to rob you of the beautiful truth that you’re loved by God.” SHEILA WALSH Jimmy Carter God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes – and we must. “ We need an untamed Saviour because … only a wildly redemptive Jesus can free us from the pain and bondage of our past mistakes.” – Lisa Harper To the Greek, the Cross was foolishness. To the Jew, it was a stumbling block. What is it about the Cross of Christ that so roundly defies everything that power relishes? Crucifixion was humiliating. It was so humiliating that the Romans who specialiced in the art of torture assured their…

An attack by herdsmen on a Catholic church in central Nigeria recently – which police say left 16 people dead – has been condemned by the country’s president. People armed with guns targeted a congregation in Benue State – an area plagued in recent years by clashes between mobile herdsmen and settled farmers, often over land use. The latest incident struck St Ignatius’ Catholic Church in the village of Ayar Mbalom. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted: “I extend my sincere condolences to the Government and people of Benue State, the Mbalom community, and especially the Bishop, priests, & members of the St Ignatius’ Catholic Church, whose premises were the unfortunate venue of the heinous killings of worshippers & two priests by gunmen.” Hundreds of people have died in violence in…

Google controls many of the ads seen by consumers online, which means they also have control of what consumers don’t see. Now a Christian publishing house says Google is intentionally banning ad content from their website. “This morning, we learned that Google ads will no longer accept anything related to our domain. They stated that the reason is “because of the faith we express on our website,” wrote Concordia Publishing House CEO Bruce Kintz. “Google informed CPH that the type of ad in question would not be allowed based on Google’s policy of religious belief in personalised content. As a Google AdWords Support representative explained, the disapproval resulted from the fact that the items in the ad and on the website refer to Jesus and/or the Bible. Clearly, CPH does…

A coin minted to celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday has Donald Trump’s profile superimposed over King Cyrus on one side and the third temple on the other. It’s called the temple coin. “The fact that Orthodox Jews wanted to honour Trump for recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and they minted this coin—a one-half silver shekel—is as if they are confirming this word given by Christians as valid,” says Warren Marcus, the executive producer of It’s Supernatural! With Sid Roth. “The great significance is that on one side the coin has the image of Cyrus and Trump. On the other side it has the image of the third temple yet to be built. The one half-silver shekel during the time of the temple was required to be paid as an…

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” – 1 Peter 1:3 Recent estimates about how many Christians around the world suffer persecution annually for their faith have the number in the tens of thousands. Suffering is not only a common aspect of Christian discipleship, it is to be expected. Jesus made this clear to His disciples when He told them, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” – John 15:20. The Apostle Paul made a similar statement, “All who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” – 1 Tim…

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” -Col 2:6-7 Michelle Du Toit ROOTS BUILT ON CHRIST OUR ROCK Being established starts deep inside us, our “inner being,” referred to as ‘the heart’. In James 5:8 we are told to: “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” To have an established heart is to put your heart in divine order and maintain that state. How do we get our heart established? To be well established, we need to work on the root system of our lives. Paul prays for in Eph 3:16-19,“that out of his glorious riches he…

One million Rand – to many high level entrepreneurs, one million Rand may not sound like very much. But to a young man in the township of Kwadabeka, Durban, it was a dream that he intended to reach, and beyond. Andile was born into a country in which one in four of his young adult peers were unemployed. Not only that, but South Africa has one of the largest disparities between the wealthy and the poor, in the entire world. His odds were not in his favour. Everyone was looking for work—any job to help put food on the table— making the competition in the job market high; but Andile had a different plan. Humble beginnings Armed with a camera rather than a CV, Andile had an eye for photography…

“It was on a normal school day that Dedda came home early from work. I walked back from school as I always did when we moved to Lynnwood, and on my arrival at ten past two, he was waiting for me, pacing, longing for confrontation. “You are late.” “No, Dedda, I am not.” The muscle on his temple sprang into action as he launched at me, his big hands gripping my thirteen-year-old frame. “Are you calling me a liar, Jeanette?” “No, Dedda, I am not.” “So then, you are late from school.” “Yes, Dedda.” “Get to your room!” He pointed towards the passage and bent down to my level while doing so. I waited and waited. With Dedda, a mandatory catch-22 situation was in operation. If the answer or confession…

There still remain millions of people like Sammy, suffering from the consequences of disintegrated societies and misfortune, who have not yet heard the Gospel. FEBC, the Far East Broadcasting Company, aired their very first broadcast from Shanghai, China in the 1940’s. The dream, inspired by the Lord, was to launch a ministry that would focus on the extreme spiritual needs of the people of Asia following World War II. In 1948 China closed its doors to foreign missionaries, causing FEBC to move its Asian base of operations to the Philippines. FEBC’s first broadcasts over the local station, KZAS, went on air on June 4, 1948 in Manila. Today God is using FEBC Philippines to minister healing to the hearts of millions across the country and abroad. Living in hopelessness Although…

What will move the hand of God in our cities and nation? What is God looking for? God is looking to us, as the Church, to stand in the gap on behalf of the nation and cry out to Him from a place of brokenness and humility for His mercy. God spoke through Ezekiel saying, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” – Ezekiel 22:30. A powerful dream The Church is called to identify with the sin of the nation and intercede on the behalf of the people so that God may spare us. We must also acknowledge our own sin…

North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jongun, met with South Korean president Moon Jae-in on April 27 and announced that the 67-year-old Korean conflict is over. “I came here to put an end to the history of confrontation. There will be no more war on the Korean peninsula, and a new age of peace has begun,” the two leaders said in a joint statement. Christians in South Korea had been fasting and praying for the peace summit. Pastors held an all-night vigil in the city of Paju, south of the North Korean border. North Korea’s persecuted Christians have also been praying for this moment—for years. They have been horribly persecuted. They have been forced to meet secretly. They have been routinely rounded up and sent to labour camps—or just shot on sight—because…

Charged with being a spy, Czech missionary, Petr Jasek endured a 14-month imprisonment in Sudan where he was tortured by fellow cellmates. But Jesus supernaturally imparted peace during his confinement and he became a bold witness, winning many to Christ. Jasek shared an overcrowded cell with ISIS fighters and refugees, and was tortured and beaten to near-death. When Jasek began to exalt and glorify the Lord’s name during his beatings, this made them even more furious. Jasek didn’t have access to a Bible during his captivity, so he meditated on Scriptures he had memorised. “I was literally asking the Lord that He will keep my mind sound and that I wouldn’t lose my mind,” Jasek said. “The Holy Spirit kept reminding me some of the verses that I had memorised.…

LEON DU PREEZ FUNCTIONING LIKE GOD Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” We have been made with an incredible inherent power to rule and have dominion. When we become born-again, it is vital for us as believers to begin to move and exude this rulership and dominion! When God made man, He gave man authority and dominion over everything on earth. In order for us to have an idea of the kind of dominion that man would have had, had he not sinned, let’s look…

Psalm 68:5 says, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” Of all the ways the Lord God Almighty could have chosen to relate to humanity, He chose the language of family. He could have described Himself as a benevolent dictator, kind boss, or patient landlord. But instead, He chose the word ‘father’. What makes God our Father? He presents Himself as a Father because we all know what a father is and does. Even if we did not have earthly fathers who treated us well, we have an intrinsic understanding of what a good father should be. God planted that understanding in our hearts. We all have a need to be loved, cherished, protected, and valued. Ideally, an…

Marc Bredenkamp’s fiery, fresh, and bold prophetic ministry continues to impact the lives of precious people all over the planet. With an irreligious, unique prophetic expression, Marc and his music team journey into the supernatural realm of the prophetic spirit. Within this incredible, tangible, saturated, manifestation of His Holy Spirit, Christ’s message of hope and secrets are revealed. Secrets and mysteries that have been hidden in God concerning individuals and nations from before the very foundations of the earth. How did you come to know the Lord? I was called to follow satan at the age of 5 years old. At the age of 27 I was about to step into the fullness of that satanic calling. Christians who knew how to pray and intercede were causing spiritual havoc in…

When we gathered as a church this past Sunday, we had such a wonderful time praising and worshipping the Lord. At one stage, one of the pastors brought a word from the Lord. We were reminded that Jesus gave His life on the Cross to express His love for the Father and for us. His purpose was to create in us a new heart. A heart that would not look to please man, but rather serve the Father to the point that we would be despised and even rejected. But we would have nothing to fear, as His grace would be there for us. He spoke of how the Lord wanted to remove things that still have importance in our lives and to separate us from the world. Time is…

The story of Joseph provides many nuggets of truth and pragmatic lessons to believers who are willing to study the passage in depth. As a Christian investor into precious metals, the story of Joseph is particularly relevant to me. Joseph’s story After an incredible journey that began at the bottom of a pit (Gen 37:24), Joseph becomes the grand steward of all of Egypt (Gen 41:41). In Genesis 41:57, we read that ‘…all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.’ Through his wisdom, obedience, and integrity, Joseph was an example of God’s provision and love not only to his own people, but to many nations around the world. God’s Name reigned high amongst the foreign nations in the…

In this fast-paced Christian novel, Italian pastor Marco Montorsi crosses the International Date Line on a flight from Los Angeles to New Zealand and finds himself face-to-face with 24 hours that are not supposed to be there, in a world that doesn’t really exist. Seated next to Marco on the flight is a young man who is running from a crime. During this strange lapse in time, Marco is commissioned by divinity to enter another dimension to unfasten eight locks that have kept this young man prisoner for most of his life. Mountains need to be climbed, monsters need to be slain, combinations need to be deciphered, doubts need to be conquered, and locks have to be opened. All this in 24 short, unforgiving hours, or the young man’s heart…

The Do Not Die Foundation NPC is the brainchild of visionary Christian businessman, attorney, and author, Nadan Naidoo. The Do Not Die Foundation is a Non-Profit company that was birthed with the vision of developing the resilience of our people, by enabling them to deal with the unresolved issues that might be hindering their achievements, success, and inner peace. One must not die in the middle of your plans, goals, or ambitions – we must finish it. Our first priority is the schools in the Northern Areas of Nelson Mandela Metro. We are blessed to have various professionals from our community – legal professionals, medical professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, etc., – associated with our foundation, who would be available to do short motivational talks to learners during school assemblies; and to…

Fathers pl y a crucial role in the es of our families. “God enabled an illiterate herder to cling to Him amid persecution. No matter how hard the situation was, how rejected he felt, my father still clung to Christ. And that was the life I wanted. That was the God I wanted to believe in. That is the kind of God I needed,” says Hassan*. “When I was a young boy, I never knew what Christianity was,” the 24-year-old Somali believer, Hassan, shares. Most Somalis in the Horn of Africa are people who pride themselves in the fact that there are hardly any Christians among them. Jesus appeared to Hassan’s father, a former Muslim and herdsman, while he was out herding and said, “It is Me, Jesus. Do not…

TAMRYN KLINTWORTH Fire Nights I have exciting news to announce! While In His Name continues winning thousands for Jesus across Africa through Gospel Crusades, the Lord has stirred an initiative in the hearts of myself and two dear fellow evangelists that will see us impacting those closer to home. Myself and two other Cape Town based soul-winners, namely Ev. Edward Ackerman (Lightlife Evangelistic Ministries) and Ev. Herman Snell (Revive all Nations Ministries), are going to hold unbranded, one night crusades across the Cape Flats on a regular basis. When I say “unbranded” I mean that the events will not carry the name of any one ministry. Rather, we will share the platform together as a show of unity, declaring that if the Body of Christ pull together, Cape Town shall…

Our nation has been challenged by the rising temperature generated by political populism. In one such statement in parliament it was declared that “the time for reconciliation is over.” As believers, this presents a wider challenge of how we ought to deal with challenges in our nation, be it land reform or otherwise, while remaining true to our Biblical convictions. First and foremost, we ought to take what we hear in the political and other realms of life, and hold it up to the light of Scripture. If the noble Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if what the apostle Paul said was true, how much more should we hold up the statements of politicians, media, and ourselves to evaluate what is true and good from what is not?…

Church unity is more important than “theological correctness,” according to North Point Community Church Senior Pastor Andy Stanley at a conference with approximately 8000 attendees. At the Orange Conference, which focuses on issues of church leadership, Stanley spoke about the importance of Christians of different denominations being “one” in their mission. The influential author and speaker said that he found it significant that Jesus prayed for the disciples to be one, rather than for other things, including good health and being theologically accurate. “He prayed for our oneness, that we’d be on the same page,” said Stanley. “This is mission critical. If they are not one, we will not win ... unity is mission critical and disunity disrupts the mission.” Stanley spoke of how he came to believe that believing…

We are living in a perilous era, where even the media cannot be trusted. Influential powers, such as politicians, have been observed to have swayed the media into reporting biased news, in favour of such influential powers. Many tactics have been utilised, such as fake news, clickbait headlines, and a genuine lack of fact-checking. In this era where our culture is veering further and further away from God’s order and His truths, it is so important to be aware of what you are consuming and filling yourself with. If you are fed up with so many biased news stations, then it is time to start empowering yourself with knowledge by doing your own research. Do not take things at face-value anymore, especially not news sites. Almost everyone has an agenda…

Bible teacher Beth Moore says it is the will of God for Christians to expose evil, and she admits that for years she was part of a culture of silence about sexual abuse. Moore, herself a victim of sexual abuse as a child, spoke recently about the abuse she suffered in her home. The crime left her with a pervasive sense of shame that lasted for years. “What people don’t understand,” she said, “is that somebody’s selfish five minutes can cause a lifetime of painful memories and set them on a course to question everything they believe to be true.” Moore knows telling the truth can be hard and shared how her life was affected when she revealed the abuse. She first publicly referenced the sexual abuse in a book…

In about a dozen places in the Bible, the Lord is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:15; Acts 7:32). This name of God emphasises the covenant that God made with Israel and the Israelites’ special place as God’s chosen people. God repeated the Abrahamic Covenant to three different generations: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – they were all given the promise of land, many descendants, and blessing. The Lord first calls Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan, establishing a covenant with him (Genesis 12:1–3). God reaffirms the same covenant with Abraham’s son, Isaac (Genesis 21:12; 26:3–4), and later with Isaac’s son, Jacob (Genesis 28:14–15). The Lord who established and ratified this covenant is rightly called the God…

No matter your tances, God can always use you. It is very rare that you meet someone in this day and age who really impresses and blows you away. This was my experience recently when I had the opportunity to interview Anthony Liebenberg, the Senior Pastor of Life Churches in South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, and recently Zimbabwe. I had emailed him o set a time and a date that suited, and he replied asking if we could meet at the L e Child School and Safe House in Samora Machel, a township in Cape Town. Upon arrival I was introduced to the precious children who attend the school, my heart melted. We were treated to a delicious lunch by the house chef. My eyes were opened to the amazing work…

Ingredients: • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose our• 3 Tbsp sugar• 2 Tsp baking powder• ¼ Tsp fine salt• 1/8 Tsp. freshly ground nutmeg• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter• 2 large Nulaid eggs• 1 ¼ cups milk• ½ Tsp vanilla extract Method: 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. 2. In another bowl, beat the Nulaid eggs and then whisk in the milk and vanilla. 3. Melt the butter in a large pan. 4. Whisk the butter into the milk mixture, add to the flour mixture, and whisk until a thick batter is formed. 5. Keeping the pan at medium to medium low heat, ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the pan, to make a pancake. Make one or two more flapjacks,…

Jesus tells us in Luke 19:13 to “occupy and do business until He comes.” In this parable, the worker who opted to do nothing with the money that he was given was described as “wicked” , and greater authority was given to those who appreciated their resources effectively. God expects an ROI, a return on His investments. One of the best ways to do Kingdom business is to join a network that is committed to do business that reaps Kingdom benefits. I’d like to extend a special invitation to all women to join the Global Forum for Women Entrepreneurs , a network that encourages women to occupy the business gate and to trade with one another in a Kingdom manner,…

Every Christian needs to experience transformation. This book starts you off on the right track. It deals with salvation and discipleship and the need for discipline in our spiritual walk with God. The spiritual disciplines do not bring about transformation, but they put us in a place where we can be transformed by the Lord. These disciplines need to be learnt, practiced, and taught. The disciplines discussed include: discovering who the Master is, abiding in Christ, prayer, witnessing, disciple making, studying the Word, practicing the presence of God, worship, stewardship, servanthood, renewal of the mind, fasting, forgiveness, love, and obedience. Jesus never intended that some would be mere believers or converts and others would be disciples. He simply said: “Follow me”. Being a disciple, a follower of Jesus, and making…

Is tithing legalism and to be avoided? My home fellowship leader is adamant about that. A. A careful study of the Bible reveals tithing was practised before Moses wrote it into the Law. Before the Law (e.g. Abraham), during the Law, and after the Law, God’s people obeyed the principle of proportionate giving. Believers were taught to give “in keeping with your income” – 1 Corinthians 16:2, and “according to your means” – 2 Corinthians 8:12-15. It is a magnificent plan demonstrating the wisdom of God in providing for His work and His people, so everyone can participate. Tithing has two immediate benefits. (1) It protects us from excessive giving advocated by manipulative greed. (2) It encourages disciplined giving and ensures we…

PIERRE OOSTHUIZEN Palaces vs temples “If anyone’s work which he has built on endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” – 1 Corinthians 3:14-16. “Lord, what’s their problem?” – I was getting frustrated. The crusades were in an area with about 30 villages. We worked with wonderful pastors with a well-established fraternal. I kept encouraging them to reach out to other pastors in the area so we could involve as many churches as possible – but it was as if they were held back. I prayed for guidance and was shocked…