My Christian Perspective

- André Jaquet -
Before the service began in church last Sunday, I was struck by the number of people in the congregation I knew by name. I knew where most of them lived, what they did or had done before moving to our village. I was filled with gratitude to be part of the community of Prince Albert and said a silent prayer of thanks.
As I did so, Ailsa Tudhope’s lovely voice intruded, with a quotation from Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury:

“One of the phrases that a slightly younger generation than mine likes to use a lot is 'Get a life!'... ‘Get a life' is said to people who are meshed into narrow, boring, obsessive, forms of life. People who have no horizons beyond their immediate concerns, their immediate hobbies are bores. … ‘Get a life’: let’s say that to our society…If you want to grow, to move, to expand, to be enlarged as a human being, if you want to pass on that enlarged sense of what humanity is all about to another generation, well this is the way to do it.”

At first I congratulated myself on having chosen to live and ‘Get a Life’ here and to have become part of the community. But when that smug thought came to mind, my conscience posed the uncomfortable fact that we are in fact not one, but two communities.

The Oxford dictionary describes a community as ‘an organised body of people living in the same space’. A good friend shared a better definition with me:

“Somewhere where there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. A space where a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us when we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done; arms to hold us when we falter, a circle of healing and a collection of friends, a place where we can be free”.

Would our lives not be much richer and satisfying and our consciences clearer if we worked hard to become a common community?

My Christian Perspective

- André Jaquet -

If you are reading this, there is a good chance that thanks to your parents, you received a good education and now through your own hard work and savings you can maintain a certain standard of living. Others face a daily battle just to survive.

Do I sense some voices grumbling “So what do you want me to do about that”? It’s not my fault”. You can do plenty. Open your eyes and ears, your mind and heart and look for opportunities to lend a helping hand to worthy, well-run organisations that are doing all they can but need more ideas, helpers and funds.

Sharing is a two-way street and if some of us try to impose our ideas of what should be done while others wallow unmotivated and aimlessly in self-pity, nothing will change for the better. What practical things can we do about this sorry state of affairs?

Tax the rich more? Oh no, Trevor has already done that! There is a much easier and less painful way that in fact brings you much joy and satisfaction. I suspect that all it would take is an effort to get to know and care about the people that are around us every day. I would be very surprised if you didn’t feel that you have gained more from that contact than you have given.

And why stop there? Why don’t we try to get to know about folks who worship in another Church, Mosque, Synagogue or Temple?

My Christian Perspective

- Lorna Verran –

A s Christians we should ask ourselves the following questions:
Who created me?
Whom do I ultimately trust?
Whom do I look to for ultimate truth?
Whom do I look to for security and happiness?
Who is in charge of my future?

Our answers give us good indications of where God features in our lives. This reality check leads us to the FIRST and SECOND of the Ten Commandments where God commands that we should “Worship no other gods” and “You shall not make any idols”. Obedience to these commands creates a balance in one’s life and everything takes its rightful place.

A god is not an idol of wood and stone but is whatever people put first in their lives i.e. takes the place of God. In a subtle way, many of us worship other gods by building our lives around something other than the one true God. We need to recognize this and change our focus. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt.6:33

There are SO MANY values we can allow to become gods to us. Wealth, identity, work, power, popularity, possessions, pride, appearance, intellect, knowledge, self-sufficiency and even food can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for meaning, security and dependence. No one sets out with the intention of worshiping these things. But by the amount of time they occupy in our lives, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies and creating a dependence on them. Should we reach times of crisis and desperately call out to these “gods”, there will only be silence. They can offer no true answers, no guidance, and no wisdom. Or should any of these gods be taken from us only an empty shell is left.

Rather invest your life in the living God whom you can never lose – and is all you can take with you one day. So let us begin the New Year by giving God central place in our lives.

My Christian Perspective

- Ailsa Tudhope -

We tend to associate the Prince Albert Town and Olive Festival with the olives which thrive in our district, yet there is another, vital image from the olive tree which lends itself to our town: the olive branch as a symbol of peace and friendship.

As you join in the Festival we extend the olive branch of friendship. This is a busy, noisy, fun-filled occasion. Our senses are aroused by music and the chatter of the crowds, the delicious smells floating on the smoke from braai fires, the colour filled streets, creative stall-holders and enthusiastic patrons. Actors and artists, story tellers and expert speakers entertain and inform. There are a hundred and one things to see and do. We pray that during the Festival you will enter a space where you can relax and enjoy the activity, the buzz and the fun of the fair.

At other times of the year Prince Albert extends the olive branch of peace. The village becomes a quiet haven where the sun warms your back, tranquillity warms your heart and peace warms your soul. We invite you to come back and experience this harmony.

May the peace of the Great Karoo be yours …
the peace of gentle morning
of sun-warmed day
of rustling evening breeze
of star-filled night …
may the peace of God fill you
and make you whole
Amen

My Christian Perspective

- Dawn Viljoen -

Easter is over for another year. But we must always remember that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity would have been a long-forgotten religion. His principles touch our hearts, stimulate our thoughts and are an inspiration to innumerable charity organisations.

But the same things may be said of other religious leaders. What makes Christ unique is not only the inspiration that may be drawn from His doctrine, but He Himself.

He courageously went forth to meet death, and conquered it. He came back from the dead and met His disciples under different circumstances and promised to be with them always.

It is the living Christ that reigns in the lives of a multitude of people in a new millennium. They have dedicated themselves to Christ and their worship of Him is a personal matter to them, not an organisational issue, a religious teaching or a dogma. They meet Him daily in quiet seclusion and are always aware of His Living presence.

These people may be unable to give a clearly theological explanation of their faith, but in their inner being they know that Christ lives, that He loves them and has made them His property. No one will undermine their faith that the risen and glorified Saviour lives and reigns in their hearts and lives.

Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -

We as members of local churches ought to go often to the Book of Acts and take whatever steps are necessary to make our fellowship a living illustration of what community life in Christ should be.

In every little village, town and city we Christians must ask ourselves, are we reflecting to the world around us the fact that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God? If we fail to do this, then it may well be that not far into the 21st century the church could be a conscious minority surrounded by a militant paganism.

Let’s dedicate ourselves afresh to God, and make sure this prediction does not come true.

Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -

Jesus saw himself not as one who came to be served but as someone who came to serve. Everyone who is a Christian and seeks to enter into their new identity will find they have the same energy and drive to serve others. It is part of a Christian’s new make up. If we are not involved in serving others then we are not acting as we should - you’ve got to serve somebody.

A great danger we face, however, when we set out to serve others is that we do the right thing for the wrong reason. There is a big difference between feeling good because we have served others, and serving others in order to feel good.

People who fall into the latter category are termed ‘rescuers’. One pastor tells of a woman in his church who was always seeking to rescue others in the congregation from their troubles because of the buzz she go out of it. She would look around the church for someone to help and latch on to them. “You could always tell her victims,” he said, “by their hunted look.”

It is also possible to be drawn to serving others in order to be distracted from unhealthy issues in our own lives that we are unwilling to face. Such motivation is unworthy of any disciple of Christ.

We should always be willing to look into our hearts and ask ourselves this question: “Is my desire to serve others a veiled attempt to serve myself and meet my own needs, or, like the apostle Paul, am I compelled by the love of Christ?” We must make sure that we serve others with the love that flows from Christ to us, and not the love of self.

Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -

To those among us who recently lost loved ones, we offer the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. May it be a comfort to you. To those who are ill or suffering in any way, may the prayer be a light to you in their thoughts and prayers.

“Lord make me an instrument of Your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and where is sadness, joy. Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

This universal prayer will be found in Afrikaans in Liedboek – Nr.284.

Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -


When Jesus was on this earth, Jewish men thanked God in prayer that they were not born “a leper, a woman or a Gentile.” This was the thinking of those Jesus upset in Nazareth when He rejected that prayer.

He said “Listen to me: it is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah when for three and a half years there was no rain and a severe famine spread. But Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel, but only to a widow living in the Phoenician town of Zarephath. Secondly, in the time of Elisha there were many lepers in Israel, but not one of them was healed, only Naaman the Syrian.”

What was Jesus telling them? This - that God cares for women, for lepers and for Gentiles. One commentator says shrewdly “Jesus was cancelling out their daily prayers.”

Jesus was telling them, and us, not to focus our prayers on our own kind but on all around us because God cares for everyone, everywhere.

Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -

The story of Zacchaeus the wealthy chief tax collector of Jericho is one of the most fascinating stories in the Gospels. A combination of factors – Jesus’ need to pass through the town and the curiosity of Zacchaeus brought about an encounter that changed Zacchaeus forever. His handicap – shortness of stature – proved an asset because it made him climb a tree. And climbing that tree brought him face to face with Jesus.

The account says: When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus was no longer just one of the crowd; he was a person in whom Christ was interested.

Something must have sprung to life within Zacchaeus as the Master spoke to him. Once in his home, Christ’s presence there had such a profound effect upon him that he decided to give half his possessions to the poor, and pay back to anyone he had cheated four times the amount he had taken. Why would he do that?

In Lloyd Douglas’s book The Robe, Jesus says to Zacchaeus: “Why are you promising to do this?” “Master, I looked into your eyes and saw there the Zacchaeus I was meant to be.” If only we could see others as Christ sees them. What a difference it would make to all our relationships. Who can we look to for help in this? None other than our Lord. “Follow Me,” He says to you and me, “and I will help you see others through My eyes…. to see people not as they are but as they can be.”

Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -

One of the largest funeral services was held in Prince Albert on Saturday, 31st March. It was for Abraham Cupido, known affectionately as Oom Awie, a leading member of the Prince Albert community and a well known lay minister in St. John’s Anglican Church, as well as a member of the Anglican Men’s Society, who died recently after a serious illness.

He was well loved and respected both here and in the Province about us. His attitude right up to the end was one of helpfulness and caring.
People came from many parts of the Cape to pay their respects.

Those of us who are approaching or, like Oom Awie, have passed our three score years and ten, begin to realize that it is not sensible to go through life merely holding opinions. We need to have firm convictions that hold and that those convictions, as in Awie’s case, need to be based on God’s truth. Nothing less was good enough for him.

Prince Albert’s deepest sympathies go to his wife Christien and his family. He will be long remembered.

Christian Perspective

-Keith Goudie-

A grim-looking Christian was in the vicinity of an open-air meeting in the East End of London.

A young Salvation Army girl hovering on the outskirts of the crowd approached him and asked if he was saved. Embarrassed by her question he replied tartly, “Of course I am.” “Well”, she advised him, “I suggest that as soon as possible you tell your face about it.”

Whatever your understanding of your relationship with God, remember that whether you are DRC, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, VGK, Church of England in S.A., Pentecostal or whatever, the joy and love of the Lord needs to be clearly seen in your life.

A happy and blessed New Year to everybody.