Psalm 9 v 1-2 reads: “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High”
The question we should be asking ourselves is ‘Do we sing God’s praises?’ Do I as an individual in present day society praise God? Do I praise him with my WHOLE HEART? I believe this is the key. Singing God’s praises is just one thing, but praising God with our whole hearts is another. I am praising God for the abundant talents, blessings and marvellous works that He has given me and if so is my entire being, my whole heart in what I am saying and thinking?
On another note we need to ask ourselves if we are telling all of God’s marvellous works. He continually performs amazing works amongst us as human beings, but when this happens do we tell others or do we just keep it to ourselves. The challenge here is to share our faith, to share with others about what God is doing in each of our lives, to share from the heart, the whole heart.
May we all be blessed today BUT more sore may we we given the conviction of faith, the courage of a lion to share and share from the heart with all we come into contact with.
God Bless
SB
“The Lord God is my strength. He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains” – Habakkuk 3 verse 19.
How amazing is our God. He, if we put our trust and faith in him, can be our strength and help us overcome difficulties. He can help us move on the steep mountains of life that face each on of us. Lets put our strength in God!
God Bless
SB
Was watching a local TV station's rugby show last night and they profiled Ruan Pienaar a world cup winning Springbok player. Something that stood out for me was the following:
Amazing to hear this from a young, already well established and well achieved sportsmen. Keep that faith Ruan!
May your faith as a sportsmen be firm and may you praise God for the talents He has blessed you with as a sportsmen and often role model to many!
God Bless
SB
Was at a local SA bank the other morning and while i was waiting they had a framed memorabelia of the 2007 Super 14 rugby final between the Sharks and the Blue Bulls where the Bulls won in the final minute.
Part of the framing included pictures of during the game and of the victorous team posing after the game. Situated right in the middle of that picture was Jaco VD Westhuizen not wearing his bulls uniform but rather a white t-shirt with 'Jesus is King' written on the front! Once again it reminded me of the fact and that Sportsmen around the world compete for Jesus! Amazing! Go for it! Spread the word to all ends of the world!
God Bless
SB
Last night the various small groups of our church (
Our athletes are being purely measured on medals. They are not being measured on whether they did their best, improved their times, met the objectives they had for the games. No it was all about medals. This is truly sad for me. We as South Africans are such a critical nation. We only want to win, we are not prepared to be “losers”. It just feels as though we are not spending all this energy on the right places. The place where it matters. In a previous posts I referred to various scriptures and I want to highlight a few again.
In Ecclesiates 9 verse 11 it reads “I also saw something else here on earth: The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented ones does not always receive praise. Tim and chance happen to everyone.”
In 1 Corinthians 9 from verse 24-27 it reads “You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something – not just air. I treat my body hard and make it a slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.”
My prayer for our athletes and all athletes around the world is that they can become Champions for
God Bless
SB
With the Olympic show moving past the half way mark I enjoy watching the different sports. It astounds me the talent, abilities and precision that these athletes have been blessed with. As the individuals line up to compete the commentators usually refer to who is the favourite to win, who has the best world ranking for the year and what the chances are of the other competitors. On many occasions they are correct in there predictions or the winner and medalists, however there a quite few instances where the favourite is not always the winner! I have said to many an individual that once you are in the final, it is anyone’s race or anyone has a chance to win! I then sit and often wonder why did this person win and not another. Many thoughts go through my mind like, was the winner just better prepared, did the coach and athlete (who was favourite) make a mess of their final planning, did the athlete peak to soon, was the individual that won just more hungry or was this occasion just destined for a specific person!
There are so many variables that play a role in performance and especially performance on a specific day. Did an individual oversleep, or eat the wrong meal, or have equipment problems. Whatever the case may be the disappointment that I think an individual must experience, when they don’t perform like they know they are capable of is enormous. But in God’s word there is a consoling thought and passage. In Ecclesiastes 9 from verse 11 -12 it reads “I also saw something else here on earth: The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always receive praise. No one knows what will happen next. Like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a trap, people are trapped by evil when it suddenly falls on them.” The challenge for athletes is to always ensure that you try your best. Do the best you can, whether it is in training or competition. God honours people who give their best and are doing it for the right reasons. Sometimes things don’t work out like we want them to, and that happens. Try and be consoled by the thoughts that ‘I have given my all, I have put everything in that I can, I have used my God given talents to the best of my abilities’ for the sport I have participated in and finally that ‘I have honoured God’ in my quest!
God Bless
SB
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
Over the last period of time it amazes me how we as a family have been blessed. Once again you realise that God is good and great and that His endless love and mercy endures forever for each one of us. We have been blessed abundantly over the now 1 year and 8 months we have been married and over our entire existences. We are blessed with
· Family that loves us
· friends that are firm in faith and that we are able to learn from, and that care for us
· a church that we can call home, where we can grow in our faith
· a cell group where we can share our faith
· a beautiful home, that we can open the doors to friends &families
· jobs that are our passions and are not just another work!
· being able to work with people to try and assist them improving there quality of life
· being blessed by being able to work with athletes that compete at all levels of sport right through to Olympic level
I read this verse from Psalm 106 verse 1 and it just made me realise how blessed we are and that I needed to share this with all.
May you all be blessed as we have been blessed, as we try and walk a closer road with God, as we try and become Gods Champions.
SB
Many moons ago the first modern games commenced under the leadership and guidance of Baron Pierre De Coubertin. The revival of the Olympics brought about men competing against one another, fighting for the glory and pride and olive wreath. Today starts the 29th Modern Olympiad in a place far, far away from
The Olympic games is the ultimate multisport event in the world. Where the best of the best compete. Where athletes have the ability to show off their talents, hard work and perseverance that they have had over the last number of years. Many of these athletes have taken between 10 and 16 years to get to this point. Many hours of hard work, planning and preparation has culminated in this point.
The number 8 has significance for the Chinese people however for
· that will be competing at these games and becoming leaders within their countries and communities,
· that they will be able to profess their faith and if they are none believers draw closer to God,
· that this will be the start of new beginnings for me
· that as
May these games be a blessing to all and may we all enjoy watching the remarkable feats that these athletes will accomplish.
SB
Started reading the book of Revelation today. I could not even get past verse 8 and already I see such key elements. Verse 8 is so powerful, powerful because it comes from our Lord God Almighty. It reads “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty”. Wow, it is just so amazing how God is everything. He is the beginning and the end! What a mighty God we serve.
God Bless All,
SB
I was preparing for cell for tonight and was going through John 16. We have been going through the book of John over the last period of time. What an awesome book. So many important aspects are brought to life in John and particularly the works of Jesus whilst on earth. It has been amazing to see how He operated whilst on earth, everything with a bigger plan in mind. Just the same as all our Olympians have had a bigger plan, a specific periodisation, so too Jesus
Many key points stood out for me in this chapter however the one that stood out the most was the last verse. Verse 33 reads “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”. In this chapter Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit coming into the disciples and our lives when he left earth to return to the Father. He champions us in verse 32 where he says “Behold, the hour is coming (referring to his crucifixion), indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone”. He champions the disciples and us to be scattered around the world and to spread his gospel and the tell of him. However like he says in verse 33 that we will have tribulation, things won’t always be plain sailing, but what we can take from all of this is that Jesus overcame the world. He overcame the most difficult and conquered death on the cross. So whatever trials and tribulations we may experience, we need to have heart that He overcame it all and because of his death on the cross for our sins we may live in this world.
This is particularly applicable to the Olympians that start competing in three days. I am sure that over the numerous years of training and preparation for these games they have all experienced difficult times. They have experienced times when they wondered how they would get through the next training sessions, or when they were not sure if they should carry on, or if it was all worth it. But they did and I trust and pray that many of them did it through the strength that God gives them and the fact that he suffered a worse fate for each on of us. For those whom got through situations but don’t believe in God, my prayer is that when they are in Beijing that they would have the time to reflect on the fact that it is through God’s grace that they have managed to be there.
Another verse that stands out for me is from Verse 21 where Jesus refers to the women whom is pregnant and gives birth. Once the baby is born she no longer remembers the pain and anguish of the birth but is happy and delighted with her new child. Just the same many athletes will forget, as they compete, about all that pain and hard work they have put in and some will achieve the success of the medal. I trust that they will reflect on where they have come from and where they have been, the difficult training sessions, the competitions where they did not always perform as they would have liked to, but now be thankful for the strength God gave them and the blessing he gave each one of them with the talents to compete at this level.
Olympians, may this be a games of reflection and honouring of God.
God Bless
SB
I open the Campus Beeld newspaper (of the Tuks,
It is so exciting for me to see this is happening across the sports and in particular in sports that have credibility within the society. Jesus is Alive and He is alive in the sporting world and He is alive in sportsmen’s lives.
SB
God has given us blessings! This is the heading of the section in 2 Peter I read earlier. Want an amazing thought. The thought that each one of us has been blessed by God, not because we deserve it but because he loves us and wanted to bless us. This however comes at a price. A price that each one of us needs to pay but one that each one of us are able to pay. This is also crucial for the sportsmen and women. God has blessed them with unbelievable sporting talent. Talent that each one of them are able to use to show the world what God has done. Opportunities like the Olympics coming up, is just one of the platforms in which the athlete can show their talents, how they have trained themselves in both physical and spiritual aspects.
The challenge that is set for us is the following and is written here in 2 Peter 1 from verse 5-9. It reads “Because you have the blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self control and to your self control, add patience; and to your patience, add service to God; and to your service for God, add kindness to your brothers and sisters in
Are we adding these things to our lives. Are we as coaches and athletes adding these things to our lives? Are we trying to add goodness and Knowledge. Are we using self control in our sporting environment? Are we patient or are we impatient for results? Do we as coaches and sportsmen add service to God and show kindness to our fellow believers, competitors or colleagues? And do we show love, like it is commanded that ‘we love another as God has loved us?’ The important thing for each one of us is to thank God for the abundant blessings he has given us BUT more so are we taking up the challenge of living our lives like He wants us too?
The last piece that stood out for me in 2 Peter was in Chapter 3 from verse 8-9. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised – the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.” We as human beings don’t always understand God’s time. Things may not always happen when and where we would like them to happen. But here it is explained. God is being patient with each one of us, particularly because he does not want to loose any one of us! He wants each one of us to change our hearts and lives to the better. If He, the Almighty, is prepared to wait for us should we not step up to the plate and take the challenges he sets us, head on.
Have a blessed day.
SB
As many of you know Angus Buchan is the simple farmer from Greytown in Kwazulu Natal (
More recently Angus has hosted on his farm the “Mighty Men” conference, which started out with 15 farmers and workers to where this year there was a predicted 24 000 men. This however grew over the last 2-3 weeks period and miraculously 60 000 men spent the weekend on his farm. Unfortunately I was not able to attend this but from everyone I know that went they said it was a definite eye and ear opener. This then lead to the recent ‘Loftus for Jesus’ event (as I described in a previous post) where 70 000 people gather to praise God! What an event it was.
The challenge however is now the following and this was highlighted to me by Riaan (
So my prayer this morning is to join in this. Join in praying for those spiritually lead individuals that have been blessed to share the gospel and their faith, that they may grow in their faith and that God will be the ultimate rock and comforter. Please join in this prayer!
SB
Saturday saw the last of my swimmers leaving for their home countries for the final camps before they compete at the Beijing Olympics. This brings together the total of 8 swimmers from different African countries and 3 swimmers I worked closely with (them and their coach) that will be representing
Race well Guys!
God Bless
SB
With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, all the final loadings have taken place and the athletes (most of them) are entering into their starting phases of their tapers. The work has been done, the fine tuning is now starting and the faith in their abilities, their Faith in the plan that God has set out for them, should be growing by the minute and by the day. Man, this is such exciting times with only 17 days to the opening ceremony.
Today we say farewell to some of our SA athletes, particularly our swimming team, who depart for an acclimatisation camp in
I have already had to say farewell to some of my other swimmers from African countries that I have been coaching (with the thought that I may never interact with them again from a coaching level was I challenge – I wont lie to you), and the final 4 depart towards the end of this week returning to their respective countries, namely Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania and Swaziland, where their respective Olympic teams will meet and depart from. What an experience this has been working with swimmers from various African countries. It has taught me much patience (particularly with the thing we call African time ;-) ), perseverance, dedication to being able to assist in optimising their talents and being the same every single time and day I interact with them.
My Pray for all these guys and all those competing in
There are a few verses I would like to dedicate to these guys. This is my prayer for them at the games. (Some of these verses I have highlighted before).
God Bless to all the Olympians
SB
I started reading the book of James this morning. Thought I would let you know that I am excited to read this book of the bible. In glancing through it, it is based around How we are supposed to live as a Christian. Going to enjoy this one.
One of the things that stood out for me in the first chapter was about listening and obeying. In Chapter 1 verse 19 it reads “My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak”. This is such a challenge and I often catch myself listening but not really listening because my mind is all over the place. The challenge for each one of us is to stop a minute and listen. How often do we actually not listen even though we make out as if we are. This is in all situations, whether is be listening to family, friends, colleagues, our coach, our parents and especially God. So are we really listening??? \
The next challenge set for us is that we need to listen but in particular be slow to speak. This is for me a challenge daily as when I get tied up in things and someone speaks to me I want to sort things out before the person is even finished explaining the situation. So as James says we need to be willing to listen to others (and in particular listen properly) and take time before we speak to allow ourselves to process the information and provide the best advice, input and potential solution as possible.
SB
Wow, what an amazing gathering. To see 70 000 (think the said it might have been a little more though), gather at one of the countries largest stadiums where usually the screams and cries and jubilation is for the Bulls, Sundowns or some other sporting team, to be transformed into praise and worship for Jesus Christ. What an experience it was. To see that people were prepared to miss the Springboks vs the Aussies (not that we as South Africans missed much) and rather get together and celebrate the life of Jesus and what he means to us as Christians. What an event! I must compliment the organises in honouring God and going through with this event.
The Praise and worship was phenomenal and especially to hear the ‘Our Father’ be sung in Afrikaans by 70 000 people was definitely a moment I wont forget. To see the hunger of the all of us there to be filled with God’s presence and to honour him was amazing. You realise that there is a revival taking place in our country, one that starts with each one of us! Wherever we are in our walk of life! Angus Buchan (Faith like Potatoes – farmer) was brilliant in bringing the message across that he believes God is saying to us as individuals and as a nation. In a discussion at church yesterday with a friend whom also attended, it is so important that we realise that this that is happening, the revival, the gathering of believers is for God and from God and not for Angus or anyone else who organises such events. He is truly blessed to be able to stand up in front of an audience of so many and say it as it is, as it is in the bible.
Another moment that stood out for me was when Jaco Van Der Westhuizen (Former Springbok and Blue Bulls Rugby Player) reflected on the day last year when the bulls won the Super14 rugby tournament and in particular the situation around him wearing a t-shirt with the inscription JESUS IS KING. I clearly remember this day being there in
We have opportunities abundant to profess our faith and show that Jesus is King. The question is are we prepared to stand up for our faith. Whether on the sporting field, at a gathering such as the one on Saturday, at work and will we go to war for God.
Have a blessed week.
SB
Hebrews 11 is a chapter all about faith. For me verse 6 really stands out. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” In another biblical version it reads as follows “Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.” Within this chapter of Hebrews we look at faith and the whole aspect of blind faith. Faith is blind, we cant necessarily see the outcome of our faith, but we must believe that we are doing the correct thing. This is so similar to the sporting world where faith is such a vital and critical component of performance and improvement. There are many instances that as athletes we need to have faith. These are endless for example having faith in our coaches abilities, having faith in our own abilities, having faith in the program we are following, having faith in the plan that is set out for us, having faith in fellow team mates and having faith that the desired outcome will be achieved.
These instances of being faithful as an athlete can be paralled to the our faith in God. In both instances we are living by a ‘blind’ faith with every now and then receiving snippets that we are either doing right or wrong. This for example is when we read from the bible or receive confirmation from the Holy Spirit or compete in a competition and either have good or bad performances. Just the same as we need to have faith in our coach we need to have faith in God. Just the same as we need to have faith in the plan (periodisation plan in sport set for us) we need to have faith in the plan that has been laid out for us for our lives by God, a plan for our lives set up before we were even born. Just the same as we need to have faith in fellow team mates so too be need to have faith in the Body of
Faith is difficult, but as it says here in Verse 6 of Hebrews 11, without it is impossible to please God and that if we come to God we must believe and truly want to find him. So too our athletes, have faith firstly in the Lord our God and also in what the plan is laid out for you!
This morning I opened the Bible at 1 Chronicles chapter 29. This chapter is based around King David and where he requests that they build the
“We praise you, Lord, God of our father
I trust that this prayer of David can also be our today, thanking God for everything, praising his glorious name, knowing that everything comes from God and belongs to Him and finally wanting to serve and obey God.
God Bless
SB
I have started working through the book of Hebrews and this morning I read through Hebrews 6. Within this chapter a lot has to do with Knowing God or knowing about God (as it is described with an insert in my bible). A section of this chapter that stood out for me was from verse 7-12. It reads as follows:
“7Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain. The land produces a good crop for those who work it, and it receives God’s blessing. 8Other people are like land that grows thorns and weeds and is worthless. It is about to be cursed by God and will destroyed by fire. 9Dear friends, we are saying this to you, but we really expect better things from you that will lead to your salvation. 10GOD IS FAIR; HE WILL NOT FORGET THE WORK YOU DID AND THE LOVED YOU SHOWED HIM BY HELPING HIS PEOPLE. AND HE WILL REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE STILL HELPING THEM. 11We want each of you to go on with the same hard work all your lives so you will surely get what you hope for. 12We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.” A few things stand out for me in this piece.
Firstly how people are compared to land. As we all know land is of vital importance in the production of vital food for us as humans and also animals. If the land is spoiled or does not have the correct make up the crops and the end products is not of great quality.
Secondly, the land that receives plenty of rain (good input) produces a good crop and particularly for those whom have worked for it, and it will receive God’s blessing. This is the same for us as humans in that if we receive the correct ‘information’, support, advice and we work towards a life full of God and to adhere to His commands, advice expected way of living, we too will receive his blessings.
Thirdly, the some individuals are like a land that grows thorns and weeds and is worthless. This is true especially with individuals who harvest bad thoughts, who follow ill advice, whom don’t follow God’s teachings and don’t meet the necessary expectations.
Fourthly, the harshness of the words in verse 8. ‘… and is worthless. It is about to be cursed by God and will be destroyed by fire.’ This is very harsh and straight to the point something that we often do not want to be faced with, directness. But as it says if we don’t follow and do what is expected of us, we will be treated accordingly and it won’t be pleasant. This links back to a previous post of mine where I mentioned about the harshness of fire and the fact it has the power to destroy.
Fifthly, the verse that can and should bring us affirmation and reassurance that if we don’t what is expected on us that we will be treated FAIRLY because God is Fair and he wont forget the work we have done and love showed to others.
Finally, the command and expectation set for us as believers. This entails going to do the same hard work for all of our lives, not becoming lazy and if through applying faith and patience in our work we will received what has been promised to us by God. This is a really encouraging thought but along with is the challenge is set. If we take up that challenge we must be prepared to do this for the rest of our lives on earth, ensuring we follow God with unconditional faith and allow for patience as at the right time God will show and provide to us.
This passage made me think of the parable of the planting the Seed (This is found in Matthew 13). We are humans need to remember that “what we sow, we shall reap” so it is important for us to be sowing the right things in the right places and through the belief we have in what we are doing and not rushing God for action we will reap the rewards. So as sportsmen and women what are we sowing and in return setting ourselves up to reap. As sportsmen we are always exposed to having to apply quite often both faith and patience in our training and competing. So this is something we should be used to! So why not do the same for Christ?
SB
