Thursday 1st January - Looking Ahead

DAILY BYTE

I would be impressed if the name Demas meant anything to you. Not many people have heard of him. The story of Demas is a sad one though. Paul the Apostle refers to him three times: first, in the book of Philemon where he says, “Demas and Luke, my fellow workers,” (notice how Demas’ name is placed before even Luke’s name here). We next encounter Demas in Colossians where Paul writes, “Luke, the beloved physician and Demas,” (notice how Demas’ name has slipped to second in order). Finally, there is the very sad passage found in 2 Timothy 4.10, “for Demas, in love with the present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica”.

Sadly, good intentions and good beginnings don’t always translate into long-term faithful discipleship.

We see this time and time again in the making of New Year’s resolutions that often don’t get further than the end of January (or in the case of my ‘no eating chocolate’ resolution, no further than January 2nd!)

It is important to not only start our year well but to do so with the aim of finishing off just as strongly as we begin. Demas began his spiritual journey exceptionally well and yet faded long before he reached the finish line.
We need to accept that what happened to Demas could quite easily happen to us, unless we guard against it.

Today’s focus reading vividly portrays how Jesus “finished off” his race for God. We see that in the Garden of Gethsemane he was grieving and suffering greatly. Jesus feared his imminent death and the manner of that death. Yet through all his anxiety and sorrow Jesus was still able to pray, “Lord not my will, but yours be done”. Just a little later on in the Jesus story, shortly before he died, although he had already been beaten and betrayed, spat upon and cursed, hurt and abandoned, Jesus was still able to say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”.
Now I don’t know about you, but I would call that finishing well!
The love and mercy of God was powerfully displayed by Jesus during his crucifixion and the moments preceding it.

Think about what you need to put into place to ensure that you not only start this year off well, but also finish it just as strongly.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, help us to humbly accept that we are totally reliant upon your strength in running our race. Give us grace and strength far beyond our own so that we might run our race well, and so that we might one day finish our race just as strongly as we may have begun it. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Matthew 26:36-42 (NIV)

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

Wednesday 31st December - Looking Back at Our Daily Choices

DAILY BYTE

The small things all really count.

Who we are today is the result of a life-time of past decisions and choices. Not just the big decisions and choices but the small ones as well. The ones we make everyday often without much thought behind them at all.

This truth first came home to me a few years ago. I was making a couple of visits to a retirement home, and my first appointment was with an old man who was in relatively good health. However, he spent the entire visit complaining. He moaned about the food and service in the home, the weather, and his sports teams. I felt drained and down in the dumps by the time the visit ended.

My next visit was to a pair of elderly sisters who shared a room in the same home. The younger of the two was very ill and she was cared for by her sister. Although they lived in the same retirement complex as the old man, eating the same food and breathing the same air, they could not have been more different.

The sisters, despite their suffering and frail health, were filled with a vibrant and positive faith. Love and hope shone right out of their faces. I had a wonderful visit with them and left feeling spiritually uplifted and encouraged.

Over the next few weeks I thought a lot about my two contrasting visits. It gradually occurred to me (things always occur gradually to me) that the radical differences in attitude I experienced in my two visits were actually formed long before they landed up in the retirement home. The sister’s attitude of joy and love under adversity probably began a long time ago and similarly the old man’s constant grumping likely also started many years before.

You see, we decide what kind of old people we will one day become through the course of our dailydecisions and choices!

Small reactions of negativity, if made often enough, will add up into habits. Habits kept long enough will shape and form character. Therefore, the small choices we make everyday are important because they all add up to a greater whole.

In fact, they all eventually contribute to our whole – WHO we are as a person.

As you look back over the last year try to discern a pattern of personal attitude behind the choices and decisions you have made. Try to understand them because if those choices can be called into question, you need to beware that they might add up to a dangerous greater whole for you.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, give me daily insight not only to decisions and choices made through the last year, but also ones that I make in the course of everyday living. Help me to make daily choices that reflect your love and personality. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE

Galatians 6:7-10 MSG

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

Tuesday 30th December - Looking Back with Regret

DAILY BYTE

Someone once wrote that, “we crucify ourselves all the time between two thieves, the thief of the regrets of yesterday and the thief of the fear of tomorrow.”

With that in mind, today’s focus will be on past regrets. Those regrets that run so deep they still live with us today colouring our daily perceptions, choices and attitudes.

Unresolved regrets profoundly affect our present realities!

A good example of this is seen in today’s focus reading, which depicts the tremendous guilt Joseph’s brothers felt at having sold him into slavery years before (remember the Old Testament story of Joseph and his coat).

The brother’s present quality of life was greatly affected by their unresolved feelings of guilt which is why they so feared ‘payback’ time could arrive for them anytime soon.

Our own past regrets may be of an entirely different nature to Joseph’s brothers but can be just as real and threatening. We may have done something that hurt others, or we may even have failed ourselves in some way that shames us still.

The point is to face up to and address whatever it is otherwise we might be prevented from living our present to the full.

Spend some time thinking about how you might pro-actively deal with some of the last year’s regrets. If they have a very powerful hold on you, you may well need to speak to someone you trust about it.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father God, we do pray that you would help us to face up to our past regrets in a positive manner that will bring about healing and restored relationships. Where we have done wrong to others, give us wisdom and courage to go and make right. If we have failed ourselves then we pray you would help us to deal with it and be able to move on. In Jesus name. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE

Genesis 42: 18-21 NIV

On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do.
They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us."

Monday 29th December - Looking Back

DAILY BYTE

“If life is just a highway, Then the soul is just a car, And objects in the rear-view mirror, may appear closer than they are.” [MEATLOAF from “Objects in the Rear-view Mirror.”]

Commenting on this song the author Ken Gire had the following to say:
“No matter how fast we drive or how far away, we can never escape our past. Even though it is behind us, it is always in our rear-view mirror. And though it seems that the images of our past should grow smaller, the irony is that the farther down life’s highway we travel, the closer they sometimes appear.

Always just a glance away. And always glancing back at us. The images in that mirror may send us safely on our way, or they may send us crashing into a ditch. Such is the power of memories.”

Such is the power of memories!

Sometimes the objects in our rear-view mirror can appear so large that we have to stop the car and turn back. Our past can have such a powerful hold on us that it prevents us from moving forward in any meaningful way. This is why we will spend part of this week looking back at 2008 and trying to learn from the experience. For if we do not heal our past hurts and make peace with yesterday’s mistakes, then we will not be able to move forward in our spiritual journey in 2009.

Paul’s words in Philippians ‘forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead’ are a powerful inspiration in this regard. Before we can strain towards what is ahead we must first forget what is behind.

The word Paul used for ‘forget’ in the Greek can actually be translated as “to forget over a period of time.” His emphasis is to carefully examine your past and to deal with it over a process of time so that you can then move forward.

We need to be students of our past so that we are not held as slaves of our past for such is the potential power the past can have over us.

As Soren Kierkegaard once wrote: “Life must be lived forwards, but it can be understood only backwards.”

If you stop and reflect over the last year, what issues loom large for you in your rear-view mirror?

PRAY AS YOU GO

O’ Lord we pray that you would open a window for us into our past. Help us to look back with wisdom and discernment. Give us the courage to make right we have done wrong and help us to grow into our future by learning from our past. Amen

FOCUS VERSE

Philippians 3:10-12

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Friends, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Sunday 28th December - Ethelbert Children's Home

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



Ethelbert Children's Home cares for 60 abused, abandoned and neglected children from various backgrounds and cultures. They come to us frightened and hurting, not knowing who to trust or what security is. We gather them in and start the process of healing, helping them to trust again and to feel secure and cared for. Our aim is to nurture them so that one day they may leave here able to cope with society and become worthwhile citizens, capable of contributing to the world around them.

A donation can be sent to:
Ethelbert Children's Home, PO Box 28119, Malvern, Kwa-Zulu Natal, 4055.
www.ethelbert.co.za

Thank you for caring.

Saturday 27th December - Ethelbert Children's Home

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



Ethelbert Children's Home cares for 60 abused, abandoned and neglected children from various backgrounds and cultures. They come to us frightened and hurting, not knowing who to trust or what security is. We gather them in and start the process of healing, helping them to trust again and to feel secure and cared for. Our aim is to nurture them so that one day they may leave here able to cope with society and become worthwhile citizens, capable of contributing to the world around them.

A donation can be sent to:
Ethelbert Children's Home, PO Box 28119, Malvern, Kwa-Zulu Natal, 4055.
www.ethelbert.co.za

Thank you for caring.

Friday 26th December - The Day after Christmas

DAILY BYTE

The day after Christmas can be mildly depressing.

After the long build up to Christmas, and all the excitement beforehand, once all the presents are unwrapped, the family have gone home and the last of the Christmas meal is packed into Tupperware for leftovers; everything afterwards seems so blasé.

The day after Christmas, everything goes back to normal all too quickly.

But the promise of Christmas is NOT just for one day a year, or even the month preceding it. The promise of Christmas in NOT just for happy days filled with friends and presents, laughter and feasts.

No, the promise of Christmas is for everyday and that includes sad and difficult times.

Zephaniah’s prophesy encompasses this by promising that although troubles will come, they will not overwhelm us. Because of Christmas, Zephaniah is saying, everything that oppresses us will be dealt with, the lame will be rescued and the scattered will be gathered.

This is not to say that we won’t ever face troubles because no literature on earth is more realistic about the harsh facts of life than the Bible. Scripture never says life will be perfect, but does promise that God will make sense out of the imperfections.

The story is told of a church in the USA where for many years the children’s Christmas pageant had run like clockwork. The director was highly efficient, demanded perfection, and insisted that only the very best children got roles.

One year, a new minister at the church insisted that all children who wanted to be a part of the pageant could do so – parts would be found for them. The Director resigned in a huff. Now the pageant didn’t fall flat without her, but it certainly was different.

Firstly, there were far too many children cluttering the stage – about 20 angels, dozens of shepherds and even more sheep. About half-way through the play the sheep decided they would have a much better view from the seats, and so bleated their way down into some empty seats in the front. But the real climax of imprecision came when Mary and Joseph entered. The narrator was to read how Joseph was going to Bethlehem with Mary ‘his espoused wife, being great with child.’

One of the mothers had realised the children didn’t really understand the Elizabethan English of the King James Version and so changed it to the Good News Version at the last minute. So as Mary and Joseph entered, the narrator read: ‘Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph. She was pregnant’.

As the last word echoed through the P.A., little Joseph froze in his tracks. This was not how he had heard it at rehearsal! He gave Mary an incredulous look, then looked out at the congregation and said, ‘Pregnant? What do you mean pregnant?’

Needless to say, this brought this house down. The pastor’s wife, wiping the tears from her eyes, said: ‘You know, that may be exactly what Joseph actually said.” Afterwards, everyone agreed that the pageant was the best it had been in years. Not perfect of course, the way it had been previously. In fact, it was a mess, but a wonderful mess filled with laughter and joy.

You see, it was perfect in another sense. Perfect in the way God makes things perfect – for sometimes life gets messy and troublesome, mistakes get made, people get it wrong, and yet God can still bring sense to it all.

God takes meaningless, tough situations and somehow presses divine meaning into them.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, we commit into your hands every tough and difficult situation we may be facing. We trust that you would be able to press divine meaning even into our messy and disordered situations. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE

Zephaniah 3: 19-20 (NIV)

At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you;
I will rescue the lame
and gather those who have been scattered.
I will give them praise and honour
in every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.

Thursday 25th December - The Christmas ‘Yes’!

DAILY BYTE

When our elder daughter first started to speak, her very first word was ‘No.’ I’m not sure whether it had anything to do with the fact that I was sneaking a swig of her Liqui-Fruit straight out of the carton at the time. But whatever the reason, that was her first word. Which evidently is not that unusual. Linguistically, a ‘no’ is easier to pronounce than ‘yes’ and usually comes pretty early in a child’s vocabulary.

But I wonder if there’s more to that early ‘no’ than linguistics. I wonder if, at even an early age, there is something within us that leans toward saying, ‘No!’ Maybe it’s something we inherit, or perhaps it’s something we learn. But certainly, as we grow older and experience a little more of the world and its ways, so this word can easily become our first response to what life presents to us.

Jim Harnish writes, “Saying ‘no’ is a form of self-protection. It wards off the risk of commitment; it protects us from involvement; it shields us from intimate relationships. An unqualified ‘yes’ is a much harder sell. To say ‘yes’ is to make a leap of faith, to risk oneself in a new and often scary relationship.”

Saying no protects us from being taken for a ride. And it’s often appropriate in a world of scams and abuse. But when it’s our default response in life, we WILL end up missing out on much of the richness that life has to offer.

Which brings us to the whole point of today.

Christmas is God’s unqualified ‘Yes’ to the world. Christmas is God declaring that He will risk sharing life with us. That He is open to us. That He is passionately committed to being in relationship with us. Christmas is God taking the monumental risk of having His life bound up with ours.

Listen carefully to the vulnerable cry from the manger and you will know it’s true. Listen carefully to Joseph giving this child his name and you will hear an echo of God’s yes. YESu. ‘His name will be called YESu, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Today, may you hear God’s great ‘YES’ spoken over your life, and may you in turn say ‘Yes’ to God.

Happy Christmas!

Pray as You Go

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me, for always believing in me. Help me this Christmas to hear you saying ‘Yes’ to me again, and to let it echo in my own life as I seek to respond to you. Amen.

Focus Scripture

Matthew 1:20-21

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Wednesday 24th December - Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Looking Up

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday, I mentioned the rush that Christmas can be. It seems that we hustle to and fro with our heads down as we desperately try to complete shopping lists and other chores in time for the big day. We keep our heads down so much that we don’t stop to pay enough attention to what is really important at this time of the year.

For Christmas is a time that we should remember to look up.

To look up to the God who is in all life’s experiences because this profound truth is never made more clearly to us than at this time of the year.

For Christmas celebrates the wonder of God’s incarnation – that God became human and so has shared in our lives in awesome ways. God walked earth and knew hunger, thirst and suffering. He attended parties and feasts and so also ate tasty food and drank good wine. He experienced both tears and laughter.

The very presence of Jesus on earth teaches us that God shares all of our life’s experiences with us – God is not distant and aloof from us.

Many, many years before Jesus was born, the prophet Zephaniah looked up to God and prophesied the coming Jesus. He foresaw the Messiah’s coming and understood what that would mean for us. Twice within the space of two verses, Zephaniah proclaimed the great Christmas truth: ‘The Lord your God is WITH you’! (See focus verse).

This cry was later echoed by the author of Matthew’s Gospel who informs us: “All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, - which means ‘God with us.’” (See Matt 1. 22-23).

In Manila, tens of thousands of people make their homes on garbage dumps. People are born, live and die without ever leaving these dumps. They try desperately to eke out an existence from what they can scavenge.

Did you know that there are missionaries who also make their homes on these dumps?

They live there so they might tell the people about God’s love for them. It is very difficult to hear this message from someone who lives in an entirely different world from you, and so these missionaries leave their first world comforts in an effort to reach out to their brothers and sisters.

When I think about how selfish I can often be, I find what those missionaries do to be extremely humbling. But not as humbling as the thought of God stooping down into human flesh so that we might truly know that God IS WITH US.

God With Us means that God has held nothing back from us, not all the treasures of heaven, and not even his own life.

Because Christmas is a time we should remember to look up to the God who is an all of life’s experiences.

God IS with you. Don’t ever forget that.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Almighty God, the Christmas story is a reminder of Your constant presence with us, and for that we give You thanks and praise.
For calling us into intimacy with you … we give thanks!
For forgiving us of our sins and restoring us … we give thanks!
For healing us and making us whole … we give thanks!
God of grace and wonder, receive our praise, and the love of our hearts, souls, minds and strength, expressed in these words. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Zephaniah 3:15b-17 (NIV)

The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.

Tuesday 23rd December - Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Fatigue

DAILY BYTE

I don’t know about you but I find December to be an exhausting time. December arrives at a time of the year when we are already feeling tired and drained. We then find ourselves pushed onto a treadmill of Christmas parties, shopping trips, and seemingly never-ending lists of things that have to get done.

Fatigue poses great dangers to our spirituality.

This is because fatigue affects our perspectives and ability to think straight on issues. Fatigue drains us emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Instead of being a time of rest and renewal, the Christmas rush can lead to even further exhaustion, leaving us depressed and down.

It is very important that we learn how to deal with our fatigue if we want to renew our Christmas spirits. In the next few weeks try out the following two suggestions:

 Take regular time out to rest. This seems so obvious but the fact remains we just do not do this enough. Did you know that in his 3 year ministry, Jesus is recorded as having a holiday or retreat 14 times. 14 retreats in 3 years! What is more, in the story of Creation, we are taught that God worked only 6 days before resting on the 7th. Rest is a gift given to us by God and modelled to us by Jesus. We may say to ourselves that we cannot afford the time to rest but the truth of the matter is that we just cannot afford the time NOT to.

 The second suggestion follows on from the first. Henri Nouwen once said that, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” Again I would remind you of how often Jesus took time out to spend in solitude and silence. Jesus knew that times of solitude and silence provide fuel for the soul and therefore are vital to countering the effects of fatigue.

This is your challenge today. Book yourself time out to rest, not to do shopping or other chores but just to rest. Ensure that at least part of this time is spent in solitude and silence – just you and God.

Pray as You Go

Lord God, today we want to bring to you our tiredness. Help us to remember the great danger that living continually with a sense of fatigue can be to us. Give us the strength and discipline to regularly place ourselves in your presence. Help us to take time out in silence and solitude. Thank-you Jesus for your promise that if we do come to you we will certainly find rest for our souls. Help us to be still and know you as God. Amen.

Focus Reading

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Monday 22nd December - Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Pessimism

DAILY BYTE

Christmas is just around the corner! For many of us Christmas is a time of great excitement as we think happy thoughts of food, family and presents. However, for others Christmas is something to dread rather than look forward to. Reports tell us that depression and suicide rates actually increase at this time of year.

With this in mind, we will be spending the next few days looking at some of the common issues which can turn Christmas into a real downer for some. Issues that can potentially kill off our Christmas spirit. We will be looking at how during a stressed holiday season, we can open our hearts to God renewing our Christmas spirits.

The first issue we will be looking at is pessimism. Pessimism can be defined as a general belief that things around us in the world are bad, and are tending to become worse.

There is a great deal of pessimism today that grips and even paralyses people. Some of the challenging issues we South Africans face can lead to pessimism if we are not careful. We read stories of horrible crimes, we drive past hungry street children, we hear tales of corruption and power abuse and we begin to lose hope as a result.

It is important though to remember that to lose hope is to lose life.

The movie, “Children of Men,” although graphically violent, is a stark portrayal of what happens to people when hope is lost. In the movie the human race loses its ability to reproduce and so begins to go into a downward spiral of deep depression. Pessimism becomes the norm because no one can see any hope for life beyond themselves. The lesson of the movie is that our outer worlds will surely collapse around us if we do not hold onto hope within.

The opposite to pessimism is not blind, idealistic optimism. Instead it is faith.

Faith is being sure of what we do not see (Heb 11.1); and so faith counters pessimism because it holds onto hope despite even the worst circumstances.

While pessimism can kill the Christmas spirit, faith is that quality which lightens our hearts and minds with the good news of Christ’s love and presence. Let us never forget that Christmas is a powerful reminder that God is with us always and everywhere. As today’s focus reading reminds us, even if we face great opposition (such as crime, poverty and disease), we need never lose hope if we can keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus.

Pray as You Go

Lord God, we give thanks to you for Jesus Christ who is hope and life for all the world. We confess that we often allow a pessimistic spirit to grip and even paralyse all that is good and positive within us. We bring to you our fears and the feelings we get when we become overwhelmed by the world’s problems. We ask that you would renew our hope and strengthen our faith. Help us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, no matter what problems we are currently facing. Amen.

Focus Readings
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful people, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Sunday 21st December - Greyville Inner City Mission

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



Greyville Inner City Mission

Greyville inner city mission (GICM) is an organisation which reaches out to the poor, homeless, destitute and broken people living in Durban’s inner city. GICM’s main activity is to provide these people with restoration, rehabilitation, shelter, food, and clothing and help them develop a real and life giving relationship with Jesus. GICM does this by providing 6 people off the street with shelter, food and assistance to improve their lives. GICM also gives a daily meal to all those in need at lunch and a dinner on Thursday evening which is usually accompanied by worship and a Christian message. The 6 people living at GICM assist in preparing and serving these meals and providing clothing to those in need, as well as maintaining the property. GICM is based in Greyville (a suburb of Durban) opposite Game City Centre and next to the KwaSuka Theatre.

If you would like to make a donation to or if you’d like to get involved please call Cecil on 082 444 8133.

Saturday 20th December - Greyville Inner City Mission

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



Greyville Inner City Mission

Greyville inner city mission (GICM) is an organisation which reaches out to the poor, homeless, destitute and broken people living in Durban’s inner city. GICM’s main activity is to provide these people with restoration, rehabilitation, shelter, food, and clothing and help them develop a real and life giving relationship with Jesus. GICM does this by providing 6 people off the street with shelter, food and assistance to improve their lives. GICM also gives a daily meal to all those in need at lunch and a dinner on Thursday evening which is usually accompanied by worship and a Christian message. The 6 people living at GICM assist in preparing and serving these meals and providing clothing to those in need, as well as maintaining the property. GICM is based in Greyville (a suburb of Durban) opposite Game City Centre and next to the KwaSuka Theatre.

If you would like to make a donation to or if you’d like to get involved please call Cecil on 082 444 8133.

Friday 19th December - Your song

DAILY BYTE

This week we’ve considered some of the songs that were sung around the Christmas story as recorded in Luke’s gospel. We’ve listened to the songs of Elizabeth, Mary and Zechariah – each one pointing in some way or another to who God is and the ways in which God operates in our midst.

As we bring this week’s devotions to a close the questions I’d like you to consider are these, ‘What song will you be singing this Christmas, and what will it say about your understanding of who God is?’

There’s a funny story about some young schoolkids on their first day back of the new school year. The teacher asked them what they had done on Christmas. Little Johnny’s hand shot up and he said, “Teacher, on Christmas morning we woke up very early, opened all our presents, and then went to church and sang, ‘Hark the herald angels sing.’”

Next it was little Suzie’s turn. “Teacher,” she said, “on Christmas morning we also woke up very early, opened all our presents, and then went to church and sang, ‘While shepherds watched their flocks by night.’”

Then little Solly Abrahams put his hand up. The teacher wasn’t sure what to expect, especially seeing as though Solly’s dad owned a bottle store. He said, “Teacher, we also woke up very early on Christmas morning. And then we went down to daddy’s shop, and looked at the rows and rows of empty shelves, and then we sang, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus.’”

It’s a funny story (and hopefully one that hasn’t caused any offence), but it actually packs a serious punch. To what extent are we simply going through the motions in the songs we sing at Christmas? Or do the songs we sing express our experience of God’s action in our lives and our convictions of who God really is?

Over the next six days until Christmas, as you listen to Christmas carols being played in shopping malls, as you put on your favourite CD of Christmas music, as you go to church and sing, think about the songs that you hear and sing. Is there any resonance within you with the words, the sentiments, the sense of sacred mystery conveyed through the music and the lyrics? And will you dare to offer your very life as an instrument of praise that would proclaim the great and glorious things that God has done, and still continues to do?

In closing, consider these stirring words from St Augustine:
“You sing, of course, you sing, I can hear you. But make sure your life sings the same tune as your mouth. Sing with your voices. Sing with your hearts. Sing with your lives. Yes, sing with your lives. For the singer himself is the song.”

PRAY AS YOU GO

Most loving and gracious God, the celebration of Christmas is nearly upon us. Guard us from any sense of tired familiarity with the story of Jesus’ birth that we’ve heard many times before. Remind us that the coming of Christ is not simply an historical event that took place long ago, but is an ongoing reality in our lives here and now. As we listen again for the sound of angel’s song, and the songs of those who recognized your coming. May we this Christmas sing your praise not just with our lips, but with our lives. And may you take great joy and delight in the harmonies of praise that rise from us to you. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God.

(Psalm 100:1-2)

Thursday 18th December - The Songs of Zechariah & Simeon

DAILY BYTE

This week we’ve listened to the songs of Elizabeth and Mary. Today it’s the turn of Zechariah and Simeon.

For those of you not immediately familiar with where Zechariah fits into the scheme of things, he was Elizabeth’s husband and the father of John the Baptist. We read of his & Elizabeth’s story right at the beginning of Luke’s gospel. He was a priest, and together with his wife Elizabeth lived a righteous and upright life. They were both pretty old, but they had no children.

One day, while Zechariah was serving in the temple, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that Elizabeth would have a son. Zechariah was amazed, for he knew that elderly couples don’t just have kids. Well, he was literally dumbstruck, and couldn’t speak a word, a condition that lasted throughout Elizabeth’s pregnancy. It was only after their son was born, on the 8th day, when he was being circumcised, that Zechariah regained his capacity for speech. We read that he began to speak, praising God, and sang a song:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he'd do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
made holy before him as long as we live.

And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest,"
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God's Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.
(Luke 1:68-79 The Message)

Simeon was an old man who was in the temple when the baby Jesus was presented on the 8th day to be circumcised. He had been waiting for the restoration of Israel. As he took the baby Jesus in his arms, Simeon praised God and sang:

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
(Luke 2:29-32)

Both Zechariah’s and Simeon’s songs point to the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the light that breaks into the darkness for those who watch and wait in hope-filled expectation.

The beautiful prayer below ties this theme together in a challenging and comforting way. Maybe you would like to make this prayer your own today.

PRAY AS YOU GO

‘Waiting and watching’ by Rev John van der Laar

You call me to wait on You, Lord,
but I get tired of waiting.
Your answers to my prayers,
Your call for me to serve You,
the promise of Your coming Kingdom,
they all seem to take so long.

You tell me to watch for Your coming, Lord,
but I’m not sure how to prepare for…
a thief in the night,
an undisclosed time,
and Your disconcerting habit of secrecy and mystery.

Yet, something inside whispers
that You’re not all that hard to find;
That You’re always coming to me,
and that both the waiting and the watching,
are more about being open to You now,
than about trying not to be surprised in the future.

And so I will keep waiting,
and I’ll try to stay alert,
so that I can catch the glimpses of Your glory
that fill my day, every day.

Amen.

Wednesday 17th December - Mary’s Song

DAILY BYTE

We continue listening to some of the songs that were sung around the Christmas story, as recorded by Luke’s gospel. Yesterday we listened to Elizabeth’s song. It was a song of encouragement that pointed beyond Elizabeth’s immediate circumstances to Mary, and so enabled Mary to see the bigger picture of God’s promise and purpose for her life.

In response to Elizabeth’s song, Mary sings a song of her own. It’s become known as the Magnificat, which is the first word of the song in Latin. Hear it again:

And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
(Luke 1:46-55 NRSV)

In reflecting on this revolutionary song Jim Harnish writes, “’The Magnificat,’ as this passage is called, declares the truth about your life and mine. The proud do get lost in imagining their greatness. The rich are easily possessed by their riches. The powerful become intoxicated with their power. People whose hands are full can never receive the gift. Mary shows us that only the lowly can be lifted up; only those with empty hands can receive; only those who are hungry can be fed; only those who are empty can be filled; only those who acknowledge their weakness can experience the power of God.”

Mary’s song expresses the good news of “the great reversal” of God, that turns the things that this world most values upside down, and exposes the futility of power and riches to bring meaning, sustenance and lasting significance to our lives. Of course, for those who think of themselves as rich and mighty, or who long to be, this doesn’t sound much like good news. Until the deeper truth of who we really are, is acknowledged, and that is that our self-sufficiency is really an illusion, and that ALL of us, from the ‘greatest’ to the ‘least’ in the eyes of the world, are wholly dependent upon God’s goodness, mercy and grace.

Mary’s song exults in this great truth, and in the greatness of God who works mightily in the lives of those who stand in vulnerable humility before him. How might this song find more resonant expression in your life today?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, I acknowledge my love affair with power and riches. I acknowledge my yearning after popularity and social status. I acknowledge my deep-rooted self-sufficiency that fools me into thinking that I can handle things on my own. Forgive these arrogant delusions of mine, and remind me of my deep need for you. Thank you that you are a God who lifts up the lowly, and fills the empty with good things. Reveal to me the poverty of my life, that I might take hold of the abundance that you offer to me with your open, outstretched hand. I need you Lord. Amen.

Tuesday 16th December - Elisabeth’s Song

DAILY BYTE

In our devotions this week we are listening to some of the songs that were sung around the Christmas story, as recorded by Luke’s gospel. Today we listen to Elisabeth’s song.

The context is that the Archangel Gabriel has just appeared to Mary, and has told her that she will give birth to the Son of God.

Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,

You're so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true!
(Luke 1:39 -45 The Message)

Elisabeth’s song is certainly less glamorous than the better-known songs of Mary and Zechariah. Mary’s song is called the Magnificat and Zechariah’s song is called the Benedictus, but Elizabeth’s song has no special name.

Which leads us to a simple but important observation. Elizabeth’s song is not about Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s song points beyond her own particular story and circumstance to someone else. Elizabeth’s song is really about Mary. (Was this a foretaste of the role that Elizabeth’s son, John, would play in pointing beyond himself to Mary’s son, Jesus?)

There was of course much in Elizabeth’s story that was song-worthy. A childless, barren woman falls pregnant in her old age. It was miraculous. But that’s not the focus of her song. Elizabeth’s song is not about Elizabeth. It’s about Mary.

A young girl who was engaged to be married. Her whole life bursting with promise before her. But then one day an angel appears with the most incredible news, that threatened everything – her marriage to the man she loved, her reputation and dignity and standing in the community, her very life and future.

In a remarkable demonstration of trust Mary says, “OK. I’ll do it.” But the news was not greeted with confident joy, but trepidation. If you read the text carefully you’ll notice that in response to the angel’s message Mary doesn’t burst into jubilant song – that only comes later. I reckon she burst into tears. Bewildered, she simply had to get away, to think, to process, to get some perspective on what all this would mean, and how her life would never be the same again. And so we read that she set out with haste to Elizabeth, an elderly relative who greets her with a gracious song. A song that speaks powerful truth to Mary:

You’re blessed. And this pregnancy is a blessing.
And your being here is a blessing to me. And not just me, but even the miracle child within me celebrates your presence with joy. Yes Mary, you’re blessed, because you’ve dared to believe God and you’re trusting that God’s word is true!

What a beautiful song of encouragement Elizabeth sang. What a gift it must have been for Mary, scared and uncertain as she was. And what a difference it made in her life, helping her to see things in a fuller, truer perspective than what she was able to see before.

We know this because immediately after Elizabeth’s song, Mary bursts into song herself for the first time – singing one of the greatest hymns in the whole bible that’s become known as the Magnificat. (We’ll listen to this song tomorrow.)

The encouragement of Elizabeth’s song moves Mary beyond her bewilderment into the broader, wider perspective of God’s promise and purpose for her life.

How might you, like Elizabeth, offer your encouragement to someone else today, and so add your voice to the songs of Christmas that bring hope and the promise of peace to the world?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Thank you Lord for all who have encouraged me to see the bigger picture of your plan and purpose for my life. Amen

Monday 15th December - Songs of Christmas

DAILY BYTE

A few weeks’ ago we took our kids to the movies. Our daughters, aged 7 and 5, were quite emphatic about what we were going to see – High School Musical 3. I realized straight away that this was one of those occasions when reasoned negotiation would be a complete and utter waste of time, and so like a good Dad I dutifully paid for the tickets and consoled myself by supersizing my popcorn.

As the name suggests, High School Musical 3 is a movie about kids in high school, who spend a lot of their time singing and dancing in a well-orchestrated kind of way, which figures because this is the third time around that they’ve done essentially the same routine.

Let me say that I’m greatly comforted by the fact that all the kids in this movie have finally graduated from High School, which hopefully means that High School Musical 4 will never be made – unless, of course, they start doing the High School Reunion thing.

But before I start sounding too much like a grumpy old fogey, let me say that it was actually a very pleasant excursion to the movies which I thoroughly enjoyed. Especially watching our kids lapping it up with rapt attention. At times our 5 year-old even got off her chair to offer her own choreographic interpretation of some of the dance sequences. Now THAT was something to see, and well worth the price of the ticket all on its own.

What is it about musicals, at least the half-decent ones, that seem able to touch something deep inside of us? On reflection I’ve realized that my most memorable theatre-going experiences have all been of musicals – the Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, The Lion King.

When the universal experiences of the human condition – like love, and betrayal, and discovering who you are, and suffering, and redemption, and finding the courage to follow your purpose – when these are truthfully expressed in music and song, something resonates within us. Something soul-stirring, and suddenly we discover that we’ve been moved into something bigger, we’ve been transported into a broader realm of imagination and possibility, and life itself seems larger than before.

In about 10 days’ time there will be the chance to listen again for the song of the angels rejoicing in the news of Christ’s birth. A simple declaration, even by the Archangel Gabriel, was just not enough to convey the glad tidings of the birth of the Messiah. This great news could not be so neatly contained. All of the heavenly host simply had to burst into song:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang, “and on earth peace to all in whom he delights.”

If we allow this song of Christmas to sound deep within us, we will be changed by it. Because it echoes with the music of hope and promise and the irrepressible life of God bursting into the world.

In our devotions this week, as we prepare to hear the Christmas story again, we’ll do so by listening to some of the other songs that were sung around the Christmas story as recorded in Luke’s gospel. And hopefully, as we listen to Luke’s Christmas playlist, something will be stirred within us.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, there are some things that words alone cannot adequately express. There are truths that cannot be grasped simply with our minds but must be felt and experienced in our souls. Thank you for the gifts of music and song, that can open us to the deeper mysteries of life. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Luke 2:10-14

The angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord...”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to all in whom he delights.”

FOOTNOTE
For those of you living in Durban, a reminder that there will be Carols by Candlelight with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra at the Botanical Gardens tonight at 6pm.

Sunday 14th December - Udobo

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



The Udobo School is a pre-primary school that gives hope through love and education to children from poor and marginalized backgrounds in the urban area of Montwood Park, Durban, South Africa. Some of the children are orphans as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The name ‘Udobo’ is the Zulu word for ‘fishing rod’ and is based on the adage, “Give me a fish and I’ll eat for a day, teach me to fish and I’ll eat for a lifetime”. The school program provides for social, emotional, cognitive, intellectual, aesthetic and physical development of the children within a loving, caring, and safe environment. A Trust called ‘The Udobo Ed-U Foundation’ was established to receive funding on behalf of the school both locally and abroad.

The Udobo Ed-U Foundation
First National Bank of South Africa
Branch No. 221026
Branch Name : Mobeni
A/c : 62061351442
Forex SWIFT No. FIRNZAJJ762

Saturday 13th December - Udobo

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



The Udobo School is a pre-primary school that gives hope through love and education to children from poor and marginalized backgrounds in the urban area of Montwood Park, Durban, South Africa. Some of the children are orphans as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The name ‘Udobo’ is the Zulu word for ‘fishing rod’ and is based on the adage, “Give me a fish and I’ll eat for a day, teach me to fish and I’ll eat for a lifetime”. The school program provides for social, emotional, cognitive, intellectual, aesthetic and physical development of the children within a loving, caring, and safe environment. A Trust called ‘The Udobo Ed-U Foundation’ was established to receive funding on behalf of the school both locally and abroad.

The Udobo Ed-U Foundation
First National Bank of South Africa
Branch No. 221026
Branch Name : Mobeni
A/c : 62061351442
Forex SWIFT No. FIRNZAJJ762

Friday 12th December - Eucharist

DAILY BYTE

Think for a moment about the last time you took communion or had an experience of taking communion that was particularly powerful or meaningful for you. If you have never taken communion, keep reading to hear more about what communion at the Lord’s Table is all about.

Did you know that communion is also called “Eucharist,” which literally means, thanksgiving? We have been talking this week about giving thanks. What would our lives look like if we only criticized one another and God without taking time to say thank you? The Scriptures describe the last supper that Jesus had with his disciples before he was crucified. A key moment in that description is when Jesus gives thanks.

What if Jesus had skipped the part of this crucial time together that was about giving thanks? What if he had simply laid the broken bread, his broken body that we all share as the church and as a family in the world, lifeless on the table? How would the world be different, if God in human form had not taken the time to give thanks?

But, Christ does not offer himself as a lifeless sacrifice. Christ offers himself as a living sacrifice, just as we have the opportunity every day to give our lives in thanks and service to one another.

Before Jesus did anything else, when the supper was ready, the apostle Paul writes that “Jesus on the night when he was betrayed” (not the night when he sat down to a cozy dinner with his family of people without issues…) “took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me’ “ (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).

We are not alone. We live together as the family of God. This is a family that has always and will always have issues. We are all broken and imperfect.

But, when we come to the communion table – the table of Eucharist – the table of Thanksgiving - we give thanks that in the midst of our imperfection, thanks that we are still welcomed and loved by God.

So, the next time that Eucharist is offered to you, remember that Jesus is thankful for you and invites you with open arms to come to the table and give thanks for life in all its brokenness in return.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Meditate on this today, as you remember that Christ sacrificed his broken body in thanks for your life.

“and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

Thursday 11th December - Thanking the Unthank-able

DAILY BYTE

Are there people in your life that you find it seemingly impossible to give thanks for? Has anyone ever hurt you or offended you to the point that you find them unworthy of thanksgiving?

I spent Thanksgiving one year with a table full of family, including a boy of about twelve years old, whom I will call Andy. As my family members went around the table, sharing with one another things for which they were thankful, we were all keenly aware that some people were missing from the table, including Andy’s mother. She had a terrible addiction that had caused she and her husband to separate. We all knew the stories of how Andy had had to endure a drunk-driving accident that could have killed him and his sister both, and we knew how such behavior had caused him, understandably, to become very upset with her at times.

Well, as we started going around the table, each person taking moments to express thanks for the time together, the food, family, and friends, Andy’s turn came. As he sat quietly, looking down at his plate, much to our surprise, he looked up and said, “I’m thankful for my mother.”

He had clearly thought about this before. I will never forget that out of all the people and things in his life he could have chosen, he chose to give thanks for the one person in his life that had caused more division and pain than any other person.

Andy’s mother may never know that he gave thanks for her. This event happened years ago, and she still suffers from addiction. But, God knows that her life is a life for which we can be thankful. And in praying those words of thanks, Andy acknowledged to himself, to our family, and to God that his mother was more than a life-zapping, nameless person consumed with addiction. He saw and named someone who had given him life, someone in whom God was working, even if we could not see how, and someone to whom he desired to give life in return.

Andy’s prayer of thanks brought a whole new perspective, turning our vision of something for which it seemed impossible to give thanks, into a person, a child of God, who has brought life into the world.

We do not live in a void. We live in world among broken people, including ourselves. For what or whom might you find it difficult to give thanks for today?

GUIDING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 57:9

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

IF YOU ARE FEELING BRAVE…

Write a letter today to someone for whom you find it difficult to give thanks. Even if you do not send this letter, offer it up as a prayer to God for that person and for yourself, as you seek to struggle lovingly with the relationship.

Wednesday 10th December - What must come first

DAILY BYTE

Do you struggle in relationships? Do you get frustrated that the world seems to be full of arguing? How do we learn to approach relationships like these in ways that bring life to ourselves and to others?

It seems that the apostle, Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians has given us a clue.

Read this excerpt from Scripture -1 Corinthians 1:1-11, and see if you notice something curious and maybe even radical about the way Paul approaches his relationship with a church community, with people he loves and with whom he is frustrated over their quarreling:

Paul, called {as} an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their {Lord} and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's {people,} that there are quarrels among you…

Before any mention of the quarrels among these people he loves – before any mention of the ways that they are being unfaithful to the teachings of the faith -instead of cursing them, Paul thanks God for them.

Before having a difficult conversation with someone or before a quarrel, how often do we stop and thank God for the other person? I can, of course, only speak for myself, but I feel as though this is a rare phenomenon.

Think today, however, about how giving thanks for someone and the work that God is doing in and through them before criticizing them, arguing with them, or simply disagreeing with them might change our entire perspective, as we begin interactions with others by noticing that they are valuable and loved in the sight of God, just as we are.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Pray through this song by Henry Smith, acknowledging our own and others’ imperfections but also acknowledging the grace of God in uniting us as one body that learns together how to be thankful:

Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One,
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ His Son.

And now let the weak say "I am strong."
Let the poor say "I am rich."
Because of what the Lord has done
for us
Give thanks.

Tuesday 9th December - The God Squad

DAILY BYTE

Usually, at my family’s house at Thanksgiving, it is a member of the “God Squad” who is “invited” – aka required…to kick off the meal by praying and sharing thanks around the Thanksgiving table. The God Squad is comprised of all pastors and all those studying to be pastors. It’s the same kind of effect that happens at many meal or group gatherings when a clergy member is present. Often, the pastor is called on to pray. Now, please don’t read this as a complaint! I find praying for and with people one of the greatest delights and privileges of my job.

However, what concerns me about this phenomenon is the sense of fear or inadequacy that seems to surround peoples’ requests to have the “professional” pray.

Have you ever felt like you don’t know how to pray? Does this make you feel self-conscious or as though you’d rather “leave it to the pros?”

Well, when it is my turn to lead my family’s prayers of thanksgiving, it is my joy to turn the tables, asking us all to share with one another something from the past year for which we are thankful. As we go around the table, from one person to the next, I have learned more about giving thanks to one another and to God than I ever would have learned by simply taking over the role of “pray-er” myself.

We learn to be thankful by hearing the thanks of others. We learn to share our struggles by hearing the struggles of others. And, we learn to pray by hearing and sharing the prayers of others.

It is during these times of hearing the “unprofessional” prayers and thanks of people around me that I learn better how to pray and be in honest relationships with God and other people.

And so, know today that you don’t have to be a member of the God Squad to pray, thanking God for good gifts, thanking other people for the ways they have blessed your life, and admitting to God and others when you’re not feeling so thankful. Giving thanks and praying is about honesty. It is about being truthful with others and God about who you are, whether that comes out of your mouth eloquently or in a fumbling whisper. God wants us to share our lives with Him and with one another. So, don’t leave it up to the pros. Consider joining the God Squad of everyone in the world that wants this kind of relationship today.

GUIDING SCRIPTURE

Philippians 4:6-7

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Gracious God,

You have given us voices to speak and ears to hear. Help us not to let feelings of fear or inadequacy hinder the sharing of our thanks and our whole lives in ways that you desire to be life-giving. Thank you for enabling us to be bold in the ways that we can reach out to you and others. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Monday 8th December - Sharing Thanksgiving

DAILY BYTE

November 27 was the day this year when people in the United States celebrated giving thanks – “Thanksgiving.” Since, however, we are in South Africa and not in the United States, the value of Thanksgiving traditions has been on my mind. What is it about the activity of giving thanks that is so vital and life giving? What do you do, if you’re not feeling very thankful? What if you feel like you have no one to share your thanks or your struggles with?

Well, I have spent only two Thanksgivings in my life outside of the US and away from my family. The first was when I was studying in England, living in a flat with people I didn’t really know. I was pretty much on my own.

I remember I had somehow conjured up the ingredients for my mom’s recipe for pumpkin pie and baked one for my flatmates. To put it mildly, they did not quite appreciate the squishy, creamy texture and pungent and unfamiliar spices. They made faces like (mm – interesting…). This was sort of all right because pumpkin pie is one of my favorite things, so there was more for me, but somehow, when no one else was thankful for it, even if they didn’t like it, I really didn’t want it anymore either.

And so, it sat, getting crusty on the counter, while I slouched into my room and tried not to cry. Because I pictured in my mind my cousin’s house in the former British colony of Virginia – a house that by then would have been busting at the seams with family and so warm from the sharing of body heat that they would be opening the windows to get some air circulation, as everyone sat down to dinner together with plates heaped with nourishing sweet potatoes and turkey and my beloved pumpkin pie.

Well, I called my family right when this blessed event of the heaping of the plates was happening. They passed the phone around from one person to the next, as I heard voices shouting We Miss You’s and We Love You’s and Hey, Hey, Hey - Happy Thanksgiving!! And before I knew it, they quickly hung up so that they could go sit down at the table. And I was left crying, picturing them in my mind, as they spent a few moments fulfilling their purpose for the day - giving thanks together by going around the table to voice their blessings from the year.

This year, I was away from my family again, but something was significantly different. This year, people from the church gathered to share a feast together and to take turns voicing our thanks to one another for various aspects of our lives over the last year.

Sharing a time for giving thanks is not just an American tradition to be saved for one day out of the year. It is a way of life, shown to us in the Scriptures! It is not just for people who have close family and heaping plates of food. It is for everyone – whether we feel alone, abandoned, ungrateful, or bursting with thanks. When we are without biological family, the church becomes our family. It becomes a place where we can share with one another our struggles and our thanks. And when, it feels like even the church is not enough to contain the struggles and joys of our lives, then God has promised us never to leave us or forsake us. Whether feeling thankful or not, we are never alone, and there will always be someone who loves us with whom we can share our lives. Thanks be to God.

FOCUS READING

Deuteronomy 31:8

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Psalm 95:2

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Sunday 7th December - Makabongwe

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



Makabongwe Methodist Pre-School had small beginnings with children sitting on cardboard in Grey Street, Durban. It was the initiative of a group of Christian women who felt that no child should be illiterate.

Today that initiative has grown into a bright, sunny pre-school with premises in Alice Street. Seventy children drawn primarily from the street vendors in the area now have a safe environment to learn play and grow as God intended. These disadvantaged children are given a good grade R education following the National Education Syllabus.

Makabongwe means “Let Him be praised” and we do praise Him for He has indeed blessed this little school.

You can help make a difference by sponsoring a child monthly or a once off donation, thus ensuring a brighter future for the children.

Contact:
Colleen 084209409.
Manning Road Methodist Church 031 202 8262.
Bank details:
Makabongwe Methodist Pre-School
FNB
Account - 50710017936
Branch - 223526

Saturday 6th December - Makabongwe

Weekend Blurb

The BDC is a weekday devotional aimed at anyone and everyone who struggles to keep up with the stressful demands of daily life.

This is why there are no weekend devotions prepared; however look out for your next update which will be this Monday.

Every weekend we will use this space to focus on a different mission project. This is an excellent opportunity to see how many people are striving to make a real difference in this country, and also how you might become involved.



Makabongwe Methodist Pre-School had small beginnings with children sitting on cardboard in Grey Street, Durban. It was the initiative of a group of Christian women who felt that no child should be illiterate.

Today that initiative has grown into a bright, sunny pre-school with premises in Alice Street. Seventy children drawn primarily from the street vendors in the area now have a safe environment to learn play and grow as God intended. These disadvantaged children are given a good grade R education following the National Education Syllabus.

Makabongwe means “Let Him be praised” and we do praise Him for He has indeed blessed this little school.

You can help make a difference by sponsoring a child monthly or a once off donation, thus ensuring a brighter future for the children.

Contact:
Colleen 084209409.
Manning Road Methodist Church 031 202 8262.
Bank details:
Makabongwe Methodist Pre-School
FNB
Account - 50710017936
Branch - 223526

Friday 5th December - Challenges of Listening 2

DAILY BYTE

Today’s challenge of listening is perhaps foundational to all other acts of listening, and it is this:

Stop to listen to God, and through that act of listening you will find that life opens up to you in the most amazing ways.

On Monday, I mentioned how God is a speaking God, and that the Bible is about God’s words reaching out to us because love always seeks to communicate. Many of you may have wondered at that though.

Your experience may have been of a frustratingly silent God ... a God who does not really seem to hear our prayers and pleas. Now sometimes, as many great saints have experienced and taught, we do go through ‘long dark moments of the soul,’ moments where we don’t hear from God, but truth be told, MOST of the time we don’t hear from God for entirely different reasons.

Simply put, we don’t hear from God because we just do not take the time to actually listen!

Let’s do a snap questionnaire – over the last week, add up in your head the amount of time you spent praying or talking to God. Now, add up the amount of time you actually spent listening to God.

God is constantly speaking into this world, but we have just lost the art and discipline of listening.

Frederick Buechner reminds us that all moments in life are key moments, and that if we listen to our lives, if we really pay attention, we will recognise the presence of the holy speaking to us in the ordinary.

In her book ‘Travelling Mercies,’ Annie Lamott recalls an old story about a man sitting in a bar in Alaska getting drunk. He was telling the bartender that he had recently lost his faith in God after his twin engine plane crashed into the tundra.

“So,” he spat out bitterly, “I lay there in the wreckage praying with all my might and crying out to God to save me, but God didn’t raise a finger to help me. I’m through believing in a God who doesn’t care about what happens to me.”

“But you’re here talking to me,” said the surprised bartender, “obviously you were saved.”
“Yeah that’s right,” replied the man, “only because finally some old Eskimo came along.”

If you learn to listen to your life, and the people in your life, you will be surprised to find how much of God is in this world. You will discover how much grace there is in even the most ordinary things. You will begin to recognise how many of your own ‘Eskimos’ – answers to prayers and moments of grace – you do not even recognise for what they are.

So perhaps we should stop running after our particular Babel towers, and stop expecting to find our life’s significance through our achievements, gifts and talents – through what we can tell the world.

Surprising as this may be, perhaps the greatest difference you can make in your lifetime, and the most profound way you can open the ordinary up to the holy is to just stop and listen more.

So may you be still then ... and may you hear.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, teach me to listen to you – to hear your voice spoken into the very ordinary things of everyday life. Give me the strength and discipline I need to structure into my life moments of silence and moments of careful listening. Amen.

FOCUS READING

John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.