30 December 2007

My dear friends

Our prayers have been with Onkel Friedel, Tante Rita, Arno, the team and the brethren at the Family Conference in Bilten. As the conference comes to an end may the Lord bless the good seed of His Word.

Gideon and Sandra Jacobs are in Paris visiting their family (daughter, son-in-law and now 2 little ones) and the brethren. As they minister in France they will value your prayers.

The TAK Radio team in Berlin would like to thank you for the prayer support and request further prayers for 2008. TAK will be facing new challenges in the new year. 

The latest update from Lidia Veciunca, the Romanian CCE student who is presently visiting in the USA, was a blessing to read. The following excerpt made a deep impression on me,

Mario Rocha has been visiting the brethren in the Cape and he is thankful for the blessed time of fellowship and sharing from God's Word.

There are many visitors at KwaSizabantu at present. Two ladies from Mpumalanga and Gauteng came by to see me. As they shared briefly I was refreshed. May the Lord glorify Himself further.

Bruno Hlongwane and his boys are visiting the brethren at Smithfield, Free State, this weekend. May they be a blessing and be blessed.

This being the 30th of December, Lindiwe and I would like to invite you to thank God with us on this our 28th Wedding Anniversary. Especially in view of the circumstances in the last 7 years I realise afresh that I dare not take for granted Lindiwe's undying love, devotion and loyalty. The 18-year old girl that I married in 1979 has proved to be one of my greatest assets in life.

Remember ...

As 2007 draws to an ends and 2008 prepares for the imminent welcome ceremonies I cannot but notice the mushrooming of motivational speaking enterprises in our Radio Khwezi's coverage area. The main theme at this time is how to deal with the past and face the future.

Some of you might have more background knowledge on the motivational speaking 'industry' than I do.

Well over 10 years ago a brother with a dynamic character told me how he went about encouraging people. One day someone called him in and offered to set him up as a motivational speaker in a more structured businesslike manner. From then on the new venture just took off; he got invited by big concerns like corporates to motivate their staff. At that time already his office was charging clients several thousands for an hour's address. Surprised, I asked him what he told the people in that hour. He just laughed and said, "The usual stuff, you know."

Over the years motivational speaking has become quite a fine art with different styles and techniques being used. I have sat in meetings where motivational speakers made a lot of sense. On the other hand, I cringed at presentations that would offend anyone with some sense of decency.

Talking about motivation, on a somewhat more personal note, a picture that stands out in my mind is that of executives who have been advised to start the day by entering the office, composing themselves, thinking positive thoughts, pounding the desk with the fist and shouting, "I can do it. I can do it ..."

What happens then in case like mine, with a completely paralysed body and without speech? My legs cannot carry me to the office, I cannot make a fist, let alone pound it on the desk; I have no voice to shout, "I can do it. I can do it ..."

My thoughts took me back to what I consider to be one of the best 'motivational speeches' that I have ever listened to. It was an address by a brother at the Annual Conference of Christians for Truth. Unfortunately, words cannot capture the spirit of the address and the atmosphere at the conference that day.

The message was based on the humanly-speaking impossible situation that was faced by Nehemiah as he initiated and led the project of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. There was fierce opposition from enemies who mocked and threatened to attack and kill Nehemiah and those who were with him. Worse still, Nehemiah's people started panicking; they felt overwhelmed by the amount of work that still had to be done and they were ready to give up.

The climax of the address was Nehemiah's response after summing up the dire situation,

"Remember the Lord ..."

Yes, dear friends, remembering the Lord is not out of reach even for those with dysfunctional bodies. Remembering the Lord has seen me through even the worst of days.

When I remember the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who visited my father and the family with His light in our darkest night, the God with whom I have been privileged to walk since I was a boy of 13, the God who called me into His service 30 years ago, the God who has sustained our marriage for the last 28 years, the God who has been with me in a special way in the last 7 years of great physical suffering, my soul soars to heavenly heights and I am inspired anew to fight on.

"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (Nehemiah 4:14)

Have a blessed New Year with your dear ones.
 
Pressing on!
 
In His love
 
Fano Sibisi

E-mail:  fano@cft.org.za
Web   :  www.cft.org.za