Hating the Politics NOT the Person

fter 27 years as a regular churchgoer in Capetown, South Africa, the penny finally dropped for John Simons.

And he wasn’t alone.

“In our hearts, the Lord was revealing to us that we were living a lie as professing Christians,” says the newly appointed national director of Sharing of Ministries Abroad (SOMA) in Australia.

“Humanly, we did seem justified in hating the White Government’s apartheid policy.

“I mean, how would you like to live in segregated areas as a second-class citizen in a constant environment of oppression?

“But the Lord revealed to us that our hatreds and resentments had to be repented of if ever we were to witness reconciliation and a spiritual awakening in South Africa.

“We had to learn to forgive our enemies – just as JESUS did on the Cross.

“So we followed JESUS’ example of forgiveness and love and this led to a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit spearheaded by

Africa Enterprise. “This move of the Spirit touched both blacks and whites.

“The Bible verse the Lord had me focus on during this historic time of reconciliation was 2 Chronicles 7:14:

‘If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. John Simons…At the Cross we find God’s forgiveness

God’s promises of forgiveness and healing contained in this verse were fulfilled, as the entire world witnessed.

“The blacks gained independence, Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa and we learnt a powerful lesson about ‘hate the politics but never hate the person.’

“All South Africans, including myself, gained freedom but I still had much negative baggage

To deal with in my Christian walk.” You see, I had been a very successful businessman – the first person of colour to join the national sales advisory service in Capetown, the highest rank a sales consultant can achieve. “But because of a fear of rejection I only worked within in my own ethnic group; and it took about a year for the Lord to eradicate this negative attitude. “Between 1993 and 1998, I returned to South Africa to be part of healing/reconciliation ministry within the church. “Today, Mildred and I continue our involvement in SOMA and Healing Ministry, where we share Stephen’s great example of forgiveness. As he was being stoned for his faith, he said ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ Acts 7:60
Stephen: first Christian martyr

A STORY OF PERSISTENT PRAYER

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled
with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work
for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The
Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up
to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive
surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man
returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had
been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the Adversary
decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary
mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't
budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it."

This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that
he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.
"Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time,
giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough."

And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a
matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord" he
said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength
to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even
budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to
serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against
the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I
mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.
But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled,
your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and
your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown
much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you
haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to
exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend,
will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own
intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple
obedience and faith in Him....By all means, exercise the faith that
moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.
Just P.U.S.H!

When everything seems to go wrong,...P.U.S.H.!

When the job gets you down,...P.U.S.H.!

When people don't react the way you think they should,...P.U.S.H.!

When your money is short and the bills are due,...P.U.S.H.!

When you want to curse them out for whatever the reason,...P.U.S.H.!

When people just don't understand you,...P.U.S.H.!

P.U.S.H - Pray Until Something Happens!