Diensevangelisasie

Wat is diensevagelisasies?
Diensevangelisasie is om deur wie jy is en wat jy doen so te leef dat jou menswees getuig.
Waarom diensevangelisasie?
Ons leef in 'n samelewing wat toenemend kunsmatig word, waar ons konstant opsoek is na kitsoplossings en waar die einde die middele heilig (waarheen jy werk regverdig hoe jy tewerk gaan). Dit het so erg geword dat mens mooi eers mense deurkyk voor mens eers daaraan dink om 'n woord wat uit hul mond kom te glo. En met christene is dit nog erger, jy kry hierdie mense wat wil hê jy moet Bybel lees en kerk toe gaan om te leer hoe om anders te leef en gelukkig te wees, maar as mens na hulle lewens kyk; doen hulle niks wat hul verkondig nie en lyk hulle regtig nie gelukkig nie. Nie juis 'n goeie advertensie vir geloof nie...
Dit is dan hier waar diensevangelisasie inkom, die doelbewuste keuse om te leef soos wat die Bybel voorstel, sodat ons gelukkig kan wees en vir mense God se liefde sal leef. Dit is slegs wanneer dit gebeur dat geloof enigsins aanloklik lyk!
Hoe dan? Wat vra dit van my?
Die vangplek met hierdie vorm evangelisasie is dat ek nie iewers heen gaan vir 'n bepaalde tyd waar ek myself mooi moet gedra of vir 'n kort rukkie 'n front kan opsit en dan wanneer ek by die huis kom weer myself kan wees sonder die geloof sousie. Dit vereis lewensverandering; dit vra van my om elke dag, en elke oomblik van elke dag anders te wees as die wêreld; om net waar ek kom 'n lewende advertensie te wees vir Jesus. Vir die res van my lewe, want die oomblik wat ek stop hou ek op om te getuig...
Is dit moeilik?
Ja, want ek moet verander.
Nee, dit beteken bloot dat ek volgens die basiese beginsels van die Bybel wat ons in Matt 22:34-36 en Gal 5 vind leef. Dit gaan wel beteken ek gaan uitstaan, ek gaan anders optree en ek gaan heel moontlik minder populer wees. Nie dat ons as gelowiges geroep is om populer te wees nie.
Waar kan ek begin?
By die huis, wanneer ek uit die bed opstaan. Deur die keuse te maak om vandag met almal vriendelik te wees, nie vriendelik met die vriendelikes nie, maar om vriendelik te wees en bly met elke persoon waarmee ek in aanraking kom. Onthou dat die eerste persoon waarmee jy in aanraking kom jyself is! As jy voor die spiëel staan sê vir daardie persoon jy is oulik, mooi, slim geskep in God se beeld tot jy dit glo. Dan kan jy uitgaan en die eerste stap van diensevangelisasie toepas.
Lees saam Lukas 6:30-36
Wat staan hier vir jou uit?
Hoe behoort ons as Christene te leef?
Kan ek dit toepas in my normale dag? Noem 'n paar voorbeelde:

Morning Radio

This morning after getting up and following my usual routine of prayer, coffee, biblestudy and breakfast I stayed in bed and listend to the radio. I don't know if I should be surprised or dissapointed... One after another people from different groups found reason to blame their failure on others, explaining how they are doing their best only to be sabotaged by
... The sad part is that they truly believe that as long as someone is to blame it's all okay. It doesn't seem to matter if anyone tried their best, as long as you have someone to blame for not achieving your goal all is well.
What happened to the days when we were happy when we could say we did our best, even of we could not achieve our goal. Why can't we be proud of ourselfs for trying even if we don't always succeed?
It seems to me that this new way of living will lead to stagnation! We should proudly tell the word how hard we tried, how we keep striving for better. It is after all, all we can do.
I would rather be proud of my noble, honest failure than of my wonderous use of scapegoats; wouldn't you?

Calling, artistry and what it all means

When it calls to calling, to fulfilling the call that God placed on our lives many of us believe you have to work with people, or preach to be in the divine calling. This morning while doing bible study my wife casually mentioned a text that sent my mind spinning with the arrogance we often display. In Exodus 31:1-5 God calls and inspires artisans with His spirit so that they might work their arts, because He needs and deserves the best. This simple text made me re-evaluate so many things. The most important being that to live one's calling one must be in the ministry and not in the secular world. The problem lies in this text. An artisan learns his or her art in the secular world, gains experience there, and we only acknowledge his or her work when it is displayed in the church. Now there lies the problem. When an artisan makes something to the best of his or her ability, is that not exactly what God asks in this text? When a secular musician creates music that moves us, isn't that musician also praising God by using the gift He granted? When a carpenter builds a cabinet to the best of his ability and the end product amazes us, is not God praised for the beauty added to the world?

Why am I not as...

There are times when I wonder, when I compare myself with others why am I not as successful as they are? Why is my life not on the same fast track? I ask myself what did I do wrong, where did I miss the road to fame?
And then I read 1 Corinthians 12 and Galatians 6:4. Corinthians uses metaphors to tell us that God made each of us different, because we have different tasks to perform. As we are made for different things each of us was given unique talents and gifts. Using the image of the body it explains that each part is necessary, without a part the body just won't work the way it is supposed to. Sure it can work and one learns to do without if something is broken or lost, but without that piece the body will never be as efficient as it could be. Galatians gives the command to view or test all of our actions and to be proud of them without comparing them with others. Sure there might be someone prettier or someone who is more successful, but do they laugh as prettily as you do? Can they transfix an audience with nothing but words? Can they write like you, sing like you, see the world as you do or do whatever makes you, you as well as you do? Quite simply no they can't because they are not you. They also have regrets, they have unfulfilled dreams, things they wished they had or had not done. All that comes from comparing with others is sadness, depression and anger. Next time go look at your own actions, what you have achieved in spite of where you're from, what was done to you, what you did and be proud. And if you find you're not proud, change! It is never too late to become the best you that you can be, so go do that. Trust me it will take less energy than you would otherwise spend being jealous of others and comparing what never was with what never can be.
So if you're reading this be proud of your life, it is the only one you have.

Oor die dood

Gister was 'n vreemde dag; een van die eerste boodskappe van die dag wat ek gelees het was dat my oupa oorlede is. Mens sou dink jy het 'n gevoel van hartseer en rou, tog was die gevoel meer verligting, ja daar was hartseer, maar die persoon wat my oupa was is eintlik vier jaar terug toe hy my mpumalanga fraikcare opgeneem is dood. Die liggaam wat gister tot sterwe gekom het kyk soos oupa, maar ek het meer as vier jaar laas herkenning of enige spark in daardie oë gesien.
Van wat ek in die mense in sy lewe gehoor het was hy 'n goeie man wat baie vir ander gedoen het, in die min woorde wat ons gedeel het, het ek baie wysheid gevind; tog was ons nooit naby mekaar gewees nie en het ons nie werklik die verhouding gehad wat ek van ander hoor oor hulle oupas. Ten spyte daarvan was ek lief vir hom en het hy 'n impak in my lewe gehad, my beeld van wat liefde is, is baie beïnvloed deur die meer as 50 jaar lange huwelik van my ouma en oupa gehad het, 'n verhouding waar liefde so mooi uitgebeeld was: veral in die laaste jare toe oupa sy geheue stelselmatig verloor het en ek steeds gesien het hoe hulle gesigte ophelder wanneer hulle na mekaar kyk.
So ek sit met gemengde gevoelens, ek is verlig die lyding is verby, maar ek is hartseer vir die man wat nie meer daar is nie en vir verhoudings wat nooit weer kan wees nie.

on uncertainty

At times in life one is cast on unfamiliar shores,

Far away from home, where all lies shrouded in mist,

Where there is no future and no past,

Only the ever present now…

The question is how one deals with it,

Does one rush to what one once knew and hold with all your strength to what you had,

Does one embrace the change and adapt to it,

Flourish or perish the choice is in your hands

Happiness

Today in society we have a problem that while in was an issue in the past never reached the scope that it has achieved today.

The balance of what makes you happy and what pays the rent…

When we are in school we are told to think about what our talents and abilities are. Once one knows what you are good at look inside yourself and find out what makes you happy. The idea is to strike a balance between these two, what you are good at and what gives you a sense of accomplishment.

This seems perfect. The problem many of us don’t realise at the time is that what we are good at and what we love doing is not always something that people will pay you to do. This has lead a society where young people are stuck doing frustrating jobs to put food on the table while trying to find the time after and before work to do the things they love.

In many cases this has lead to people saving up and starting small independent businesses, while this might not be the answer for all of those out there who struggle with this problem for some it have brought relief.

For people like me who have a love of the written word but who do not have the time to develop their skills in writing the internet and blogs offer a release and a way of getting creative as well as criticism on what we write without having to pay through our ears for it…

If this trend continues it is possible that in parts of society we will have numerous small endeavours; be they businesses, blogs, art exhibitions, arts and craft markets, cooking classes or people doing more DIY around the home in order to get satisfaction, relief from the dreary day to day drudge work so many of us are subjected to.

We live in a time of hope and a time of creative solutions; do not be afraid to find a creative way to express yourself and to share your heart with others. For without these releases many of us would never know happiness.