Thirsting For God

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God

-PSALMS 42:1

Now, being acquainted with the outdoors, and in Africa, and in the jungles, and the eastern countries where this Book the Bible was written, they have over there great herds of wild dogs, wolves. And David was acquainted with these animals.

And a little deer, when these wild, savage dogs run into a herd of deer... They have long fangs, and one of their choice spots is to grab the deer is just behind the ear, sink those fangs in, and then swing his weight. When he does it, he rips the deer's neck. That's all of it. The deer goes right down.

And if the deer, he cannot catch him in the jugular vein here, as we call it, he's got another choice place. He grabs him right in the flank. And he will grab it with his teeth like that, and when he swings his weight, he throws the deer off his feet. And the dogs cover that deer and rip him to pieces just in a moment.

Now, many times the deer, when the dog grabs him in the side or up here, if he gets too tight a hold, well, sometimes the swinging of the deer will make the chunk of meat pull out. Then the animal has the meat in its mouth, and if there's no other dogs standing to cut it off, it can sometime escape. But it's bleeding. The blood's a pouring from the little fellow.

Now, if any hunter here knows anything about hunting, if a deer can get to water he can live. If that deer can't get to water, he's dead. And David knew that. And he said, "As the hart panteth for the water brook, my soul thirst after Thee."

Could you imagine, the hounds has just grabbed and pulled a big chunk out of his side, his blood's life is running out. The little deer stands sniffing for water, the hounds are just behind him. He’s got to find water or he will die.

David said, "That's the way my soul thirsts for Thee. Oh, I must have You, Lord, or I'll perish." If you only knew, sinner friend, that the hounds of hell is right behind you, crippled and wounded by sin, and you've got to find Christ or perish. When that sort of a desire gets into a man's heart, he will find Christ, when you get in that shape.

"As the hart panteth for the water brook. I must have it. I'm wounded. If I don't have it, I'm gone." And when you get to a place that you want Christ so bad, you must have Him or perish, you can't sleep at night; you can't eat; you've just got to find Him; blessed are you when you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you'll find Eternal Life.

May God help you this afternoon to have that thirst for that Life, for there's only one Life that'll last forever; that's Eternal Life, and given only by knowing Jesus Christ in the forgiveness of your sin. "He that heareth My Word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath passed from death unto Life, and shall never come to the judgment." You've done passed from death to Life.

Bro. William M. Branham - GREATEST.GIFT.IN.BIBLE- 57-0811A

Say What?...On The Road

I think it's time to do another post about South African language.

Here are some (funny but true) definitions for travelling on the roads that were published in "go", a travel magazine:

Bakkie ~ A pick-up truck or light utility vehicle.

Garage ~ The place you get your fuel, fill up the oil, have your tyres pumped and your windscreen washed, etc. There's also usually a small (or larger) shop where you can buy the basics. They are also called 'sevice stations' and can be anything from a pump or two next to the road to the large, fancier "Ultra City".

Petrol ~ When South Africans say "gas" we mean butane or something that comes in a cylinder. You fill your car with petrol, unless you're driving a diesel vehicle, in which case you ask for diesel.

Robot ~ No, not a little electronic tin man! We call a traffic light a robot. ( Why? I suppose because it takes the place of a real live traffic officer.. :-? )

Taxi ~ ( this needs a post on it's own :P ) This isn't your standard metered taxi or cab. When South Africans say "taxi" we mean the ubiquitous minibuses (often old Kombis) that are the mainstay of our public transport system. The routes they follow are not easy to discern and they disobey traffic rules with impunity (believing that they have 'right of way' at all times!). They are usually overloaded and sometimes besides human passengers, they also carry chickens and other livestock. Beware! (If you dare to hail one, stand next to a no-stopping sign and hold your hand out. A taxi will soon appear, and stop.)

Zebra crossing ~ A pedestrian crossing, so called because it resembles a zebra's stripes. If you use one, don't bargain on the traffic stopping for you.

And by the way, when you're in S.A. you drive on the left-hand side of the road. :)

Sept. 11 - A Rare Sight for S.A.

If you are in Southern Africa this Saturday, September 11th, you will be able to see a rare sight in the sky - and not at night, mind you, but during the day! It is rare as the next time it is predicted to be seen this well is in 2023.

What you will be able to see on Saturday afternoon is an "Occultation of Venus by the Moon", this means that the Moon will pass directly between Southern Africa and Venus. :)

At the moment the planet Venus, known as the 'Evening Star' is bright enough to see during the day but it is difficult to find it in the wide, bright blue sky. Tomorrow though it will be near the Moon and this will make it easier to find. You will have to look carefully to find the Moon as it is a thin cresent at the moment. (see the Moon-phase gadget on the right sidebar of our blog)

In a nutshell, on 11 September you will be able to see ~
*Venus during the day.
*Venus disappearing behind the Moon - an "occultation of Venus" - and then later re-appearing on the other side of the Moon.
*A spectacular early-evening sight: the young crescent Moon just above a brilliantly bright Venus (the "evening star").

Here are some tips from the Planetarium to help you enjoy your Sky watch tomorrow:
Look for the Moon early morning - rising in the east from about 9am (eastern SA) or 10am (western SA). At this time, Venus will be on the dark side (east) of the Moon, about four Moon-widths below and a bit to the right of the Moon.

As the day goes on the Sun and Moon will move across the sky towards the west (due to the rotation of the Earth); the Moon will be about 40 degrees (twice the size of your outstretched spread-out hand) to the east of the Sun. As the day goes by, the Moon will move noticeably towards Venus. Some time during the afternoon (depending on where you live in SA), the Moon will pass directly in front of Venus, hiding it - this is an "occultation".

The occultation will last from a few minutes (for Musina, on the edge of the "occultation path") up to nearly an hour and a half (for Cape Town, nearer the centre of the path).

By evening the Moon will have passed Venus; after the Sun has set, the crescent will be clearly visible for a couple of hours, just above Venus (Venus is the very bright "evening star"). This will be a beautiful sight, and if you have a small telescope, get it out and see if you can see the crescent shape of Venus - it needs a bit of magnification.

Another tip: while looking for Venus during the day, stand in the edge of the shade of a building - this will help you to avoid accidentally looking at the Sun which is very dangerous and could damage your eyes especially if you are using binoculars or a telescope.
The times of the occultation will depend on where in S.A. you are:
* Musina: 3:02 pm to 3:15 pm
* Johannesburg: 2:37pm to 3:41pm
* Durban: 2:43 pm to 3:57pm
* Cape Town: 2:15 pm to 3:41pm
For other towns, see this list http://www.planetarium.co.za/VenusOccultation2010Sep11.pdf

Have a wonderful day, marvelling at the Lord's Creation! :)

A Humble Heart

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

- MATTHEW 23:12

No matter how much teaching you got, you can drum that into you. God's not in big words; God's in a honest heart. You might sing or speak big words, like I don't know what; that doesn't bring you closer to God. You can stand and practice how to repeat your sermon and say these things; that don't get you closer to God. You could learn dictionaries till you sleep with one, and it still wouldn't get you closer to God. A humble, submitted heart, in the simplicity, is what brings you to God. That's true. Amen. A humble heart, God loves. Now, no matter if you don't know your abc's, that don't make any difference. Just a humble heart, God dwells in a humble heart, not in education, it's not in schools, not in theology, seminaries, not in all these other different places, not in big words, or not in classical places. God dwells in human hearts. And the lower you can break yourself down, the more simple, you can become greater in the sight of God.

Bro. William Branham  DEMONOLOGY.2.RELIGIOUS- 53-0609A

It's Officially Spring!

Officially it's the first day of Spring here today! :) Over the past few weeks the weather has been warming up quite a bit and lately it's actually been hot. It seems as if we are going to "skip" Spring and go straight into Summer - that often happens here! We are eagerly awaiting the first rains - it has been so dry throughout the Winter.

The trees are budding and getting new leaves and blossoms and the birds are all chirpy and starting to build nests. We always keep a look out at this time for the first Swallows to return. :) The tortoises already came out of hibernation weeks ago and there is a chorus of crickets singing at night.

No matter where in the world you happen to be, Spring is always a wonderful time! :)