Claiming the victory

On the cold winter’s night when Ricardo arrived at the camp below Mount Visamunes, he knew that this was his last hope of healing. As a teenager, he had developed a rare bone disease that caused his bones to deteriorate day by day; and which would eventually leave his skeleton so fragile and brittle, that even small bumps would result in breakages. He had seen the world’s best doctors and specialists, begging that one of them could cure him.
They all told him the same thing; there was no cure and he would be lucky if he celebrated his 25th birthday.

Now 22 years old and desperate for anything that could save him, he found himself at the only place that still offered a glimmer of hope. Mount Visamunes was believed to be graced with a lake on the summit that was filled with water rumoured to have medicinal properties, which could heal the sickness that threatened to prematurely end Ricardo’s life.

The next morning when he awoke he stepped outside and looked up at the mountain that towered above him. As he gazed up at the snow capped summit, he realised that he had travelled half way around the world to be here and now he was only a few hours trek from healing. He bubbled with excitement at the prospect of once again running around with his friends, riding a bicycle, or just dealing with a punch on the shoulder without being admitted to hospital.
By now most of the camp was beginning to wake, and all around him Ricardo saw people with the same condition as his, although they lacked his enthusiasm and excitement. He walked over to a man who was sitting on a rock under a tree, with drooped shoulders and his eyes downcast to the patterns he was scratching in the sand. “Hi there. Are you also here to climb to the lake and be healed by the magical water? Is it true that there is healing up there?” he asked.
The man gave a wry smile and replied, “You’re obviously new here. Yes there is healing to be found in the lake; instant healing. All one has to do is make it to the top and drink the water. But getting to the top is unlikely, if not impossible. I have been here for 2 years and still I haven’t made it to the top. It is just too difficult.”

Ricardo could not believe what he was hearing. “But we are so close. Just a few hours walking and we can be cured of this terrible disease, ready to start living!”
The man was now becoming irate at his naïve enthusiasm, “You don’t understand boy. The path is difficult to follow; there are wild animals that can eat you, snakes and scorpions that sting and bite you, thick thorn bush and strong winds that can blow you off the mountain entirely. You would be risking your life by climbing.”
Ricardo thought his final comment somewhat ironic, but decided his efforts were futile. He continued making his way through the camp where everyone he met echoed the sentiments of the first man; there was healing at the top of the mountain, it was just too difficult to get there. After a few hours, with his enthusiasm and hopes of life destroyed, he too went to sit on a rock and scratch in the dirt.

Shortly thereafter a man walked up to him and asked him if he was new here, a man that didn’t have the same look of defeatism in him. Ricardo replied that he had arrived yesterday but that he knew now that there was no way he was going to make it to the top. The man pulled Ricardo to his feet and looked him in the eye, “Listen to me boy, don’t believe what these people have told you. Everyone here sits around feeling sorry for themselves because they believe they haven’t the strength the climb to the top and get their healing. I was just like them. Then one day someone told me about the guide that waits at the foot of the mountain. He knows the way, he carries weapons to fight off dangerous animals, a machete to cut through the bush and is strong enough to hold you up when the winds come. I went to him and followed him to the top. Make no mistake, it was tough and without his help I would never have made it, but I continued walking and eventually made it. Come I’ll take you to him”. The sparkle returned to Ricardo’s eye.

They arrived at the foot of the mountain where he met the guide who was overjoyed that he wanted to make it to the top. They began to walk, and as the walked they talked and joked. The going got tougher and Ricardo’s legs began to ache and his lungs began to burn. The guide let him rest and then encouraged him to continue going, helping him along all the way. They came to a place where the bush was thick and dark, and there were hundreds of evil looking eyes. He could hear hissing and growling. A ferocious looking dog leapt out and snapped at him and that was as much as he could handle. He turned to run back. “Don’t go yet, I’ll protect you,” yelled the guide, “you can go back now but there is no cure down at camp. We can make it to the top, together. Just trust me; I’ve done this many times before.” Ricardo slowed, stopped and then returned. The guide walked beside him, chopping away the bush and fighting off the animals and killing the poisonous snakes lying in the path. Ricardo was terrified, but he continued to walk. When they came out of the bush they were hit by gusting winds, the guide grabbed Ricardo around the waist and held him firmly, and they continued together. They came to a rocky section where Ricardo tripped and broke his ankle and was so tired that he fell down to the ground and began sobbing. “I’ll never make it. It is too difficult. You brought me up here to die. I was safe at camp where there was none of this horrible stuff and now I’m going to die.” The guide told him that he could go down at any time, but there was only a few hundred metres to go. Once again, to his credit, Ricardo got up, threw one arm over the guide’s shoulder and hobbled up to the top.

There his eyes feasted on the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Lush green vegetation alongside the banks of a crystal clear lake that reflected the brilliant blue of the sky. He just flopped into the water, clothes and all. He drank and drank until he thought his stomach would burst. And then he walked out, he stood on the banks and saw his ankle was no longer swollen. The guide gave him a punch on the shoulder and congratulated him for making it and nothing broke. Ricardo was healed! He jumped in the air, he ran into trees and threw stones into the water and jumped off rocks. He was alive again! He looked at the guide and said, “If it wasn’t for you I would never have made it. Thank you. I have to go down and tell the others about this place and tell them that you can get anyone to the top.” Together they ran down the mountain, to tell the others the good news.

Verse: 1 John 5:4,5
“…for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

What we can learn from this story:
• No matter what struggles we have in life – An addiction, tumultuous relationships, past hurts, financial problems or any sin – God promises us that the battle has already been won. We don’t get to the top of the mountain and then have to fight a dragon; Jesus has already slayed the dragon. Healing awaits us at the top of the mountain; we just have to go get it
• The Holy Spirit is our guide in getting to the top and we don’t have to do it on our own. He shows us where to go; he protects us from all evils and threats. We just have to trust in Him and His supreme power.
• The journey is not easy, and we need to work hard and endure some difficult and testing times to get to the top.
• Believe in the victory that Jesus has won in your life and begin the journey with Him to go and claim your prize!

Be blessed, make music, live with passion
NS

The best is yet to come

This weekend one of my good mates got married. It was the most incredible wedding I’ve ever been to – God was everywhere. During the service, while sitting in the broken shade of a willow tree under the warm African sun, I got the most incredible sense of God’s power in the place. Everything just felt so right; it felt like this is how things were meant to be. This is what He intended marriage to be when He created it: the union of two of His children, deeply in love with Him firstly and then in love with one another; making a commitment to walk, together, with Him, for eternity. It is really hard to imagine that anything between two people can be more perfect than a marriage centred on Christ. There was something unexplainable about the love and raw Godly power that permeated through the place – God was pleased, I have no doubt.

But besides that I want to share with you what the pastor spoke about – that the best is yet to come.
Have you ever wondered why a relationship to which you've committed doesn’t have the same kind of future excitement as the memories of the past?
Or do you dream about past experiences and people, wishing for it because you will never have that again?
Do you worry about getting older, looking in the mirror wishing for your youth?

He told the story of Jesus at the wedding.
In short: The wine at the wedding runs out, Jesus is asked to help a brother out, so He tells them to fill some jars with water and He turns the water to wine. Easy as pie.
A servant takes a glass of the wine to the master of the banquet who, heartily impressed, says to the bridegroom, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” (John 2:10)
The most awesome thing about this is that the best is still to come when we are walking with Jesus. If things are bad, they can only get better and if things are good, then they can also only get better.
Paul confirms this when he writes, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor 4:16)
Bottom line: as earthly humans we are wasting away. We are fading flowers, there is nothing we can do to stop our aging or that our heyday on earth comes and goes before we know it. But if what we care about most is our relationship with Christ, then the fading of our minds and bodies is nothing in comparison with the renewal that takes place inside our hearts and spirit, every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit. And the best part of it is that we are going forward…toward the best times of our lives…always…when we place Jesus number one.

Every now and then you hear a couple who has been married for 40 or 50 years and when asked how they did it, they say that they love their spouse more today than they did 40 or 50 years ago. I never could quite understand that, how can you love this person more – all old and wrinkled and unable to do cool stuff – than the person he/she was when they were young.
But now it all makes sense; love is something that grows over time, it’s something that is inside. And Jesus fills us with the ability to love. As we walk with Him, we are renewed daily – it's like every day the old skin is peeled off to reveal a new fresh skin below – more able and stronger to love and enjoy the good times ahead.

Be blessed, make music, live with passion
NS

The Serenity Prayer

Recently a friend gave me this: The Serenity Prayer. Most people know the first verse, but there are a couple more to it, and this is in fact where the meat of it lies. Enjoy!

The Serenity Prayer
Reinhold Niebhur 1926

God, grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference

Living one day at a time
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace

Taking this sinful world as it is and not as I would have it
Trusting that You will make all things right as I surrender to Your will

That I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with You in the next