JOY! Magazine October 2016

“FOR JUST AS THE BODY IS ONE AND HAS MANY MEMBERS, AND ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY, THOUGH MANY, ARE ONE BODY, SO IT IS WITH CHRIST.” - 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12 I am delighted to share Nico Bougas’ article on encouragement on page 58. We all need encouragement, some more than others. Every week I hear of someone that I care about having problems, physically, financially, or relationally. Only Jesus can help us – I am always led to first pray for their faith and that it will hold up in the trying circumstances. We must guard and build our faith by reading Scriptures and putting them into practice every day. Your faith in God’s promises is what will make you whole again. It gives us great pleasure to…

Have you ever wondered why is it that so many believers start out so well on their journey of faith, only to bow out of the race? Their love for the Lord grows cold and their hearts grow hard towards Him. The sad truth is that much of the Western Church today lies in a sleeping, compromised, and lukewarm state. Many today go by the name of ‘Christian,’ but in reality they are backslidden, compromised in their faith, and have grown cold towards God and the things of God. The love for the world has entered their hearts Why is this? Mark 4:18-19 gives us the answer: “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the Word, and the cares of this world, the…

Our Father in Heaven, we bow in reverence as we pray. Thank You for Your great Love, may we love You and Your children always. May every reader of JOY! be encouraged, yielded to You, and drawn closer to You. • Suicide Help us to be sensitive to those who are hurting, enable us to minister Your hope, love, and truth to them. There is a void within us that only You can fill, so help us not to look to people, things, or circumstances, but to You, for in You alone we find strength, security, hope and comfort. • Barnabas – Son of Encouragement May we all be true sons and daughters, encouraging others with generosity, words, and acts of kindness. Help us to offer true friendship and welcome others…

God bless Noupoort My sister was sent to Noupoort Christian Care Centre to recover from alcohol addiction and has just returned home a new person. A public “thank you” for all the hard work and nonsense they have to put up with. She is clean and very grateful for the help you gave her, and for the opportunity of a new life. We stand in faith that her recovery will be permanent. God bless all the staff there. Alice Empowered by your August issue Thank you JOY! Magazine for your latest issue with a black woman on the cover. I am black, Christian, and also a businesswoman and so found this issue particularly interesting. We businesswomen are the role models to millions of young girls who think they have no…

• Your Grandmother and I got married first, and then lived together. • Every family had a father and a mother. • Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, “Sir”. • And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title,“Sir.” • We were before gay-rights, computer dating, dual careers, daycare centres, and group therapy. • Our lives were governed by the The Bible, good judgement, and common sense. • We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. • Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. • We thought fast food was eating half a biscuit while running to catch the…

ASwedish church plans to use drones to drop small Bibles in Arabic to areas controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq. The Livets Ord (Word of Life) in Uppsala says that it is important for Christians to remember that love can reach anyone, even those cut off from the outside world. “Our ambition is to pass on the hope and love of the Christian Gospel to a population living in closed areas where they are being denied human rights,” Christian Akerhielmm, project director, said. “The Bible has been found in all its forms through time, and we want to spread the message to those who need hope, for the Bible’s message gives hope,” he said. The project will begin in the near future with the goal to drop “thousands of…