Table of contents for June 2019 in JOY! Magazine

Heavenly Father, I come to he you in the Name of Jesus. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself; I need your forgiveness and salvation. I believe that Jesus died on the Cross, and on the third day He rose to be with You. I confess Jesus as the Lord of my life. I invite Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Saviour and I surrender my life to Him. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace that has saved me from my sins. Please, Lord Jesus, transform my life so that I may bring glory and honour to You alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for the gift of eternal life.…

“Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His Word, heeding the voice of His Word.” – Psalm 103:20 I recently had a vision of myriads of angels that were assigned to our nation, waiting for Christians to give voice according to God’s Word. We have the responsibility to pray in line with His Word and the angels will heed and act according to His Word. This is not a time to draw back, but a time to rise up and stand in the gap for our nation. I have often said that the future of the nation is on the lips of a praying Church. If you are a pastor, motivate prayer meetings and lead them yourself. We are God’s examples to His Church and…

Christians in north-eastern Nigeria, especially in the predominantly Christian villages around Gwoza and Chibok, have remained resolute in their faith despite the attacks by the former Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad, now called Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWA), popularly called Boko Haram, which launched a campaign in 2010 to establish Sharia law in the country and to force Christians to either convert to Islam or be killed. Chibok has had its fair share of attacks, but “children and adults still gather in Churches to fellowship, despite the situation. There is no Church in Chibok Local Government council, you can say the insurgency has stopped them from coming to worship, there is not one.” The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Philip Madu said. In its 10-year…

Scripture is filled with people who we can learn much from. When it comes to the challenging vocation of fatherhood, several fathers in the Bible show what is wise to do—and what is not wise to do. Of course, the most important father figure in the Bible is that of God the Father, the ultimate role model for all human dads. His love, kindness, patience, wisdom, and protectiveness are impossible standards to live up to. Fortunately, He is also forgiving and understanding, answering fathers’ prayers and giving them expert guidance so they can be the man their family wants them to be. The most important father figure in the Bible is that of God the Father. Adam: The first man As the first man and first human father, Adam had…

When professing Christians deny Biblical creation, we often point them to the Words of Jesus and the New Testament authors, which clearly affirm their own belief in Biblical creation. Because Christians are, by definition, people who believe what Jesus taught and clearly believed, this should be the end of the discussion, right? Not quite. While they may concede that Jesus, Paul, and others referred to Genesis, they often come back arguing that they did not do so in certain contexts, such as evangelism; or they argue that certain details of the Genesis narrative aren’t mentioned. And this is somehow taken as an argument against taking a historical view of Genesis as important for the Gospel and the Christian worldview. So, is what the New Testament doesn’t say a problem for…

In 2017, Evangelist Andries Pelser and his wife Debbie took a flight from Lanseria to Cape Town. In the airplane across the aisle in which Andries and Debbie were seated, sat a lady with Muslim attire. The Holy Spirit directed Andries towards the lady and asked what he saw, he thought, “A Muslim lady”. The Holy Spirit then directed Andries to look ahead of him, asking the same question, and Andries thought, “Only people”. By the time Andries left the plane in Cape Town, he knew that God was speaking to him about witnessing. Innovative ways to share the Gospel God also gave Andries an idea to assist people who find it difficult to bear testimony; either because they are too shy or they don’t know how to start the…

“Owe man nothing but love. The borrower is the servant of the lender.” – Romans 13:8. My heart hurts for those in debt. It seems to steal their joy, change their character at the end of every month, and make them feel hopeless and a failure. I know, I was there. The truth is that if you have debt, you are not a failure and you are not hopeless. God is the hope to the hopeless and I declare you will come out! I had major debt At the age of 27 I was called into the ministry. I gave my businesses away to pursue this jewel, which I found in the field. I did however keep the debt, as God’s blessings add no sorrow. An expensive mountain of heaviness…

“Thank you all for sending the light – the Word of God – to our people. God knows the greatest need of  our people and He touched and used you all to provide Bibles with hymns for us.” These were the words of 70-year-old Pastor ‘John’ who, for almost half a century, has ministered to Christians in a remote region of south-east Asia that has been riven by internal conflict for decades. For 40 of the 46 years of Pastor John’s ministry he had no Bible and barely enough money for food. He carefully saved money for seven years until he was finally able to buy a Bible for about R320 – nearly a month’s wages for those who have regular paid work in this region. Pastor John’s cherished Bible…

My mother was 22 and a newlywed when she found out she was pregnant. She was ecstatic, but my father was not. I was conceived on their honeymoon. My father didn’t want another child as he already had two children from a previous marriage, so my father proceeded to make arrangements for my mother to have an abortion, which was still illegal at the time. The first abortion attempt “I hope my testimony will bring light and healing for those who went through abortion, who are thinking about an abortion, and for those who survived an abortion.” The first time my father tried to abort me, he drugged my mother to take her for the illegal abortion. When they got to the place, the money he had was not enough,…

1. You can eat every day in a six-hour window period. 2. You fast / restrict yourself from food for the next 18 hours after your last meal. 3. Ideally you skip breakfast. In other words, on average you eat a third less. 4. You therefore only eat in one quarter of the day, a six-hour time period. For example, you eat your first meal at 13:00 and your second and last meal at 19:00. 5. Preferably you do not snack in between. 6. Focus on quality not quantity. Only eat natural true, whole foods. 7. Only eat when you are relaxed. 8. Eat slowly and chew your food properly.…

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His purpose.”– Romans 8:28 On the Easter weekend we had a terrible thing happen to us at JOY! Some cyber hackers got into our data servers and encrypted all our files and work, essentially ‘locking’ everything of ours. They then sent us a ransom message demanding a large amount of money to be paid over into a Bitcoin account (so that it cannot be traced). They said that once they received the money, they would release a decryption ‘key’ for us to access our files again. Basically, we were being blackmailed. This whole incident rendered our staff powerless to work. Our designers could not access their…

Blasphemy in movies and computer games will no longer be signposted with a ‘B’ warning, as is sex (S) or violence (V), and it will not be considered when age-rating material. The Film and Publication Board (FPB) published its new guidelines for the classification of material as suitable for certain age groups, ranging from PG for family-friendly to that which is banned in South Africa for inciting harm to a protected group, including those who can be identified by their religion. Blasphemy is never mentioned in the new guidelines, which are due to come into effect in July. Previous rules used a broad definition of blasphemy, as anything that was “insensitive, offensive, demeaning, derogatory, disrespectful, or irreverent expressions about any religion”. Such expression was not banned, or even considered when…

After election results have been announced, we often find ourselves unsure of how to live out our values in the world around us. Elections, by their very nature, are short-term events that come and go. They can also be likened to the visible tip of an otherwise unseen iceberg. Beneath them are the unseen hearts and minds of voters. Are you living for Christ? While there is a place for canvassing people to vote for a political party that best reflects Godly values, the limitation here is that this is merely one event, important as it is. The reality is that the hearts and minds of many professing Christians may remain ‘captured’ by values anti-thetical to the kingdom of God. As the apostle Paul lamented: “many live as enemies of…

We have an identity crisis in the Church today. This is because we do not know who we are in Christ and what belongs to us through Christ. Our minds remain unrenewed. In the natural, without proof of identity, you are not officially recognised and cannot operate in society in any meaningful way. You may have millions of rands in your bank account, but unless you show proof of identity, you cannot access it. So it is in the spiritual If you are ignorant of who you are in Christ and what belongs to you because of Christ, you will struggle to walk by faith and will be unable to experience the goodness of God in your life. The only true source of information concerning your identity is the Word…

When we study the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, we will discover powerful tools that intimately connect us in a marvellous partnership with the Holy Spirit. The Word teaches us how yielding to the Spirit of God allows us to be used by Him to connect people with the supernatural, tangible presence of God – where they undeniably experience His marvellous love and care for them in a very personal way. Spiritual gifts magnify Christ Operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, where we are in fine tune with the Spirit of Jesus, feeling His deep love and compassion for each person and being the vessel for Him to demonstrate His love, is nothing less than miraculous! To us, it seems to be the highest form of service…

“A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris [Hebrew: Hiddekel], which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates [Hebrew: P’rath].” – Genesis 2:10-14 Genesis 2 reads like it is describing actual geography, but the sort that doesn’t exist anywhere on today’s globe—which is exactly what we would…

It is amazing how the Bible comes alive in everyday life. The Bible is so practical. Recently, we had the honour of doing a school outreach in a particular primary school. This school was the smallest in the area and the principal was not sure if it was worth us visiting. On the day of the outreach, we met the man who did the menial tasks in the school. He was dirty from his duties and was dressed untidily. When we started the outreach he left the area and went and sat some distance away. During the call for salvation he was the first one to respond. It was like Christ had left the ninety-nine to reach the ‘one’. That my dear friend is how much you are loved by…

I grew up in a household that believed in our ancestors, rather than in God. The only exception was my grandmother – she went to church all the time and was always inviting me to go with her. Mainly I ignored her invitations, nevertheless, she would pray for us at home, especially for me. A path of darkness Honestly, I thought that being a person of faith was totally boring and unattractive compared with my ‘cool’ lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. I was a bad guy. I was a bully, and I lied a lot. I hardly slept at home, hooking up with different girls, even making one girl pregnant. Then, on a visit to the clinic, I was told that I was HIV positive. I couldn’t believe it, but…

“Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:2 Audrey Hardy LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Jesus did not say that people would know that we are His disciples by how much we own, nor by how rich or powerful we are, but by the way we love one another (John 13:35)! This was the new commandment that Jesus left His disciples, and is addressed to us, the body of Christ, today. I remember in the early days of my conversion, I would hear Christians say something like, “I love you because the Bible tells me to!” Surely, love is not something we do because we have to! It is a fruit of the Spirit and comes through a…

Are you discouraged? Many times we become so discouraged by our situation, our circumstance, our trial, or our tribulations, that we forget that we are part of something bigger than this, something bigger than what we are going through, something bigger than us. Without thinking of what will come from this, or what God’s plan is through this, we become focused on the wrong things, and it eats away at the Hope we once knew and had. We focus on our emotions, instead of our character, and we start losing hope. We aren’t defined by what has happened to us or what we went through, but simply by whom we are becoming in Christ through this situation. In a dark world, in a dark place, or in a dark situation,…

Evangelicals in Bolivia received a major religious freedom boost from the same administration that banned evangelism last year. Months after Evo Morales criminalised proselytising—before swiftly reversing course—the Bolivian president reached out to Christians to help draft legislation to recognise evangelical churches and institutions, which he since made official. “With this law, all churches have the same rights,” said Morales. “There is equality. There is neither a primary nor a secondary nor an underground church like before. Now it is a team effort and fight.” Munir Chiquie, president of the National Association of Evangelicals of Bolivia (ANDEB), called the law “a qualitative leap in the development and understanding of this fundamental freedom that is inseparable from the freedoms of worship, conscience, and thought.” Bolivia’s 10-year-old constitution declares a separation between church…

The Sunday Times has reported that R422 million in cash from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi may have been hidden at former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence. Libyan authorities claim that the money was moved to Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) earlier this year. The Libyans asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to help recover the money, and King Mswati III reportedly confirmed the existence of the money to Ramaphosa. After taking power in 1969, Gaddafi squirreled away billions of dollars to secret locations across the world. In the same year, Gaddafi sold a fifth of Libya’s gold reserves for $1 billion and apparently pocketed the money, through various secret accounts and companies, including Libya’s sovereign wealth fund. Shortly thereafter, he was killed in an uprising in the country. Since his death, authorities…

An Israeli spacecraft has failed in its attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar mission. The SpaceIL spacecraft, Beresheet, lost contact with Earth, crashing just moments before it was to land on the moon. Scientists declared the mission a failure. The small robotic spacecraft, built by the non-profit SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, had hoped to match a feat that has only been achieved by the national space agencies of three countries: U.S., Russia and China. “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on hand for what organisers had hoped to be a celebration. Netanyahu predicted an Israeli moon landing within three years.…

The chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”– William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army Why does the Church today appear to be so powerless? Why are so many churches emptying? Why have young people fled the church? Why do some Christians consider ‘gathering together as the church’ to be irrelevant? What is happening in our generation? The early Church started small and grew rapidly. Its influence reaches even our generation. The Bible counsels us to be careful about what we believe and teach – our eternal destinies and those who listen to us, are at stake. The first-century believers were passionate about the Lord Jesus Christ.…

Glory be to God for His goodness and His mercies over us. I really want to use this wonderful opportunity to thank God for bringing us into the second quarter of the year, indeed it is the Lord’s doing and it’s marvellous in our sight. The good Lord who sustained us in the first quarter of the year will also accomplish His good work in our lives in Jesus’ Name, Amen. More than conquerors Child of God, in this life there will be opposition, there will be trials and temptations, and the Word of God says that in all of these things we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). I want to encourage you with this brief message: Don’t Be Weary Today, a lot of people have missed their time…

There are few encounters that Jesus has in the Bible that are more important than the one He has with Nicodemus. Perhaps that is why in John’s We only meet Nicodemus three times in the Bible, all in John’s Gospel. Gospel, this encounter is Jesus’ first extended conversation in the book. In it we find valuable lessons to learn, especially as they relate to the Gospel and the Holy Spirit’s role. Secret curiosity We only meet Nicodemus three times in the Bible, all in John’s Gospel, yet if we track these brief encounters, we find a dramatic transformation taking place with him. The first time is when Nicodemus comes to Jesus by cover of night (John 3:2). As a Pharisee, perhaps Nicodemus was afraid of what his fellow Jews might…

God commands us to have a spirit of excellence. In our previous articles we have discussed how to develop this by 1: having a sense of belonging, and 2: being dedicated. In this issue we will delve into more ways to develop this spirit of excellence further: 3 Singleness of purpose In order to develop a spirit of excellence, we need to understand our purpose. For example, my single purpose as a minister of the Gospel is to meet the needs of the people. I can do this in various ways, not just from behind a pulpit. God did not call me to be a movie actor. There’s nothing wrong in that, but it’s not my purpose. I am called to fulfil my God-given purpose. James 1:5-8 tells us why…

3) Pre-and post-flood places share certain popular, generic names The early chapters of Genesis contain several repeated names. For example, men named Enoch and Lamech are descendants of Adam’s first son, Cain (Genesis 4:17–18), but a different Enoch and Lamech were descendants of Adam’s third named son, Seth, and are listed among the ancestors of Noah (Genesis 5:18–30). This is even more remarkable when one considers the sparse name data we have for that period.…

Last month, we had an extraordinary crusade in Madabani, Limpopo. Daily reports packed with terrific testimonies and inspirational images have been posted on our website inhisname.global. Over five evenings, we preached the Gospel in this rural, South African community well-known for its witchcraft, including the ritual of human sacrifice and an infamous‘village of witches’that sits just a few kilometres from where our crusade was held. What salvations we witnessed! What deliverances! The witchery paraphernalia of the new converts was burnt with great rejoicing. Waves of healing manifested. Men and women who had been ill for decades were completely liberated. Crutches were discarded. All manner of walking aides were waved in the air, their assistance needed no more. Hallelujah! I taught on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and we prayed…

Time is extremely important to God. Understanding the value of time and how to effectively utilise it will ensure fulfilment of purpose on earth. Much time is wasted on meaningless things that don’t add value to us, our families, or communities. Effective time usage is essential! Our youth, in particular, face challenges in effective time usage. I remember, as a young person, feeling invincible and that I had all the time in the world to do what I wanted. It is important that our incredibly gifted and creative young people discover who they are and what they are called to do. Where is your focus? At university, I wasted many days on parties, ‘good times’, and trying to impress others and be popular. I lost focus on what really counted:…