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Choose This Day

Leave a Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

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MY APOLOGIES TO INTERNATIONAL READERS, BUT THIS ARTICLE IS MAINLY FOR SOUTH AFRICANS

In just days from today, registered South African voters will make their way to their designated station and make their mark on three ballot papers. Almost all political pundits have billed this 2024 election as the most important in South African history. The 1994 election ended nationalist apartheid and opened the vote to all citizens. That election was certainly historic, but this 2024 election is monumental. Why? Because not only do we stand at the very edge of a social and economic abyss, but we also cast our vote for either Democracy or Marxist Socialism.

Why This Election is so Important

This might sound to you to be overdramatic and overstated, but consider the following: Most analysts predict a coalition government as the most likely outcome of the elections. The African National Congress (ANC) will likely remain the major party with 37% – 42% of the vote. To form a government, they’ll need to partner with a party or parties holding around 20%. There are two main options: an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) combination (around 24% together), or a Democratic Alliance (DA) and Inkatha (IFP) and the balance of the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) combination (around 32% together). These two options represent different ideologies: Radical Socialism/Marxism (EFF and MK) and Conservative Democracy (DA and MPC).

Why do I contend that the one grouping represents Marxism and why is this such a problem for the nation? Well, here are some of the main negative features in the manifestos of EFF and MK:

Expropriation without compensation resulting in the nationalisation of land throughout the country. Not only would this remove the rights of individuals and corporations to own what they have paid for and developed, but it would also present the single biggest obstacle to international investment.
The nationalisation of banks, insurance companies, mines, the Reserve Bank and so on. This would place huge power and control in the hands of the government and individuals and clans within the government.
The change of the system of law from Anglo/Dutch to Traditional African Tribal. I see this as negative and not just different: Anglo-Dutch law is practised by all Western first-world countries, codified and standardised, with a hierarchical system in that it has appeal and high courts, and a focus on individual rights. Moreover, in South Africa, it is subject to the National Constitution as interpreted by a Constitutional Court. Traditional African law, on the other hand, is limited to some African nations and differs from country to country and even tribe to tribe, not codified and standardised, is more oral than documented, has no system of higher or appeals courts, more focused on group cohesion than individual rights, and not subject to the national constitution.
A conversion from a constitutional democracy to a system where the Parlament reigns supreme over even the courts of law. The sheer weight of the number of parliamentarians loyal to particular political parties would determine law and practice within the nation and not even the highest court would be able to annul or alter such promulgations.
A change to the Pension Funds Act so that their immense funds are used for ‘national development’. This would essentially steal the hard-won pensions of millions of people and reduce all pensioners to the lowest common denominator of quality of life.
Scrap the Independent Examinations Board for schools. This would mean that all learners in the nation would be subject to a woefully deficient and abysmally low standard of education. This would have profound effects on the development of the next generations and the wealth and future of the nation.
Open all borders to allow free movement of people across Africa. Just consider the migration problems we currently experience in the nation and the problems in countries such as the United Kingdom and the USA.

These changes would lead to a flight of capital and skills, causing a dramatic negative effect on foreign exchange rates, food insecurity, business, inflation, and so on. In the absence of a viable tax base, the government would probably print more and more money resulting in runaway inflation and failure to service national debt. It is no wonder that some have called this toxic combination of ANC, EFF, and MK the Doomsday Coalition.

Alternatively, an ANC, DA, and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) (and balance of the MPC) coalition could lead to a slow but positive turnaround, if radical opposition parties don’t make the country ungovernable. Of course, five years as a junior partner to the ANC could discredit and all but wipe out the DA. However, here is a thought to consider: If the ANC only gets 37% of the vote then the DA, or Multi Party Charter, only needs 38% to have the right to form a government. This would position the ANC as a minority party and provide the DA and its coalition partners with greater power and a more favourable public profile.

So you can see that in this election the forces of radical ‘transformation’ (Marxism) are aligned against the forces of conservative democracy, with the ANC straddling the fence with one foot on the conservative side, but the bulk of its body falling over onto the radical side. Who wins and who loses will make a huge difference to the future of the nation and the well-being of all South Africans.

A Day of Individual Choice

The numerous polls in the last months presented different scenarios and outcomes. However, all that counts, literally, is that on election day each person registered to vote makes their mark according to their convictions. If all registered voters vote based on their conviction, rather than tradition, apathy, or race, then anything is possible.

Let me present two scriptural texts for your consideration:

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”.

The call of God through Moses was to the people of Israel to choose between their redeemer God or the gods of the nations around them. That was the specific context of the passage, but the principles presented apply to all God’s people of all ages.

On the 29^th May 2024, all citizens of South Africa who registered to vote will have to choose between life and death, blessing or curses. No matter what they profess, the Doomsday Coalition leaders do not honour the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Peter, and Paul. They honour no god but their self-images which they have projected into society. They do not value biblical ethics or morality and their agendas are for self-enrichment and power. Opposed to them are political parties that either openly or tacitly honour God and seek to implement biblical values into society.

There may be obtuse arguments for Africanisation versus Westernisation, but when you strip away the rhetoric and protestations it all comes down to opposition to the God of the bible and his values. Note again the words of Moses, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him”. Note too the fact that the choice we all must make affects not only ourselves but our children’s livelihood and wellbeing, both physical and spiritual.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”.

Paul was not instructing that the Jesus followers he was writing to should only pray for Christian national leaders. At that time there were no Christian national leaders because the governments of the day were firmly in the grasp of pagans. He presented the idea that we Christians should pray for all those in authority. Why? So that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. And if we are to pray and intercede then it surely follows that we should act accordingly.

Our action at this time is to vote for what we believe pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

What Jesus and the Disciples Said

I wrote about the 2024 election in August 2023 and included a brief analysis of what Jesus and his disciples said concerning the interface between a life of faith and political and economic realities. Here is what I wrote:

‘It is true that Jesus did not seem to concern himself with the politics of his day, but he did have something to say that points us in the right direction today. Peter and Paul then expanded on this in their letters.

Luke 20: 20-26 (Matthew 22 and Mark 12) records one of the best-known sayings of the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees tried to trap him by asking if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus asked for a Roman coin that bore Caesar’s image and said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. The Creator made man in his own image, and so Jesus was saying that humans should give themselves to God whose image we bare. However, Caesar’s image was on the coin so they should give that to him. A brilliant response indeed, but we should not focus on his allusion to the image of God to the extent that we miss the implication that Jesus was endorsing the Roman governmental right to what it was due.

Paul wrote that ‘Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities…’ (Romans 13:1). He then explained why and added, ‘Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour’. (Romans 13:7). He also wrote to Titus instructing him to, ‘Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.’ (Titus 3:1).

Peter’s teaching on the subject is probably the most succinct of all: ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king’. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

The Lord Jesus, Paul, and Peter were positively interacting with the subject of politics and by so doing were giving us direction as we too interact with the politics of our nation today.’

Two Final Injunctions

My concluding plea in the August 2023 article was that everyone legally able to vote should register to vote and actively support members of the MPC. However, the time has long run out to register. Now, all that remains is for each of us to vote according to conviction and a sense of the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In previous elections, many people, although registered, did not vote. The two main excuses were, “The ruling party are so dominant that my vote won’t matter”, or, “I am making a statement of objection by not voting”. Neither of these reasons has any merit whatsoever. These elections are going to be close … very close. Your vote will matter and the statement you will make by voting is “I care about the future of my nation, my children, and the generations to come.”

Yet, one other thing is vital at this time and that is to PRAY. Let me return to a text I cited earlier in this article, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 ‘I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’. So the call is to pray and to vote.

There is a reason why God instructs us to pray for those in authority in the context of the crucial election before us and it is this: We cannot fully conceive what God can do in a day. Despite the polls and despite the politicking, rhetoric, and even cheap tricks, it is what happens on the 29^th of May 2024 that matters. On that day the Lord can change the nation and express his influence through millions of people. If we pray for this and hope for this, then when it happens, only one name will be raised up in thanks and adoration. That name will not be your name, my name, or any politician’s name; that name will be … JESUS!

The two things we can all do to influence the destiny of our nation is to pray and vote … SO PLEASE PRAY and PLEASE VOTE according to your prayers.

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On the Brink of an Abyss

2 Comments / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

This article is about politics. Moreover, it is about South African politics, although the principles will apply to Christians living in any democratic country. The last time I wrote about our national situation we were at a distinct inflection point moving closer and closer to the edge of a Failed State abyss… and here we are again, teetering on the crumbling edge of that same abyss.

Politics is a word that describes the governance of a country, or any organised group for that matter. At a national, provincial, and municipal level, it is about the rules that prescribe how we all live together, the financial and administrative aspects of national life, and so on. It is a vitally important subject, yet so many Christians avoid it as somehow unchristian or irrelevant. Perhaps this is because Jesus did not teach anything directly related to politics or because church leaders have aligned themselves and their churches with particular political parties that have brought the Gospel into disrepute. Perhaps it is also because so many of today’s politicians are incompetent, corrupt, and self-serving.

Urgent Call to Action

In South Africa, we are balancing precariously on the rim of the Failed State abyss.

Our levels of corruption, brutal crime, unemployment, economic growth, resource management, and moral and ethical standards cannot get much worse. A liberation movement that ostensibly set out to free the majority of the population from the tyranny of the minority now governs us although they have never been adequately trained to do so.

In the main they are Marxists who have adopted some elements of capitalism in order to grow rich and powerful. Over three decades, they have attained this ignoble goal but in the process have left the people they govern in a generally worse condition than they were in under the previous regime. If we do not democratically remove this government from power in the soon-coming general elections, then almost everyone, except them, fears that we will plunge over the edge of the abyss into the horror of a Failed State. All citizens of South Africa, whether Christians or not, need to vote. However, time is so short that we need to do more than this: we need to get involved in ‘politics’ at one level or another. It is urgent!

What Did Jesus Say?

It is true that Jesus did not seem to concern himself with the politics of his day, but he did have something to say that points us in the right direction today. Peter and Paul then expanded on this in their letters.

Luke 20: 20-26 (Matthew 22 and Mark 12) records one of the best-known sayings of the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees tried to trap him by asking if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus asked for a Roman coin that bore Caesar’s image and said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. The Creator made man in his own image, and so Jesus was saying that humans should give themselves to God whose image we bare. However, Caesar’s image was on the coin and so they should give that to him. A brilliant response indeed, but we should not focus on his allusion to the image of God to the extent that we miss the implication that Jesus was endorsing the Roman governmental right to what it was due.

Paul wrote that ‘Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities…’ (Romans 13:1). He then explained why and added, ‘Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour’. (Romans 13:7). He also wrote to Titus instructing him to, ‘Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.’ (Titus 3:1).

Peter’s teaching on the subject is probably the most succinct of all: ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king’. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

The Lord Jesus, Paul, and Peter were positively interacting with the subject of politics and by so doing were giving us direction as we too interact with the politics of our nation today.

We cannot claim to have a biblical attitude towards government without engaging with the politics of our nation. This holds true even more when our nation is on life-support, as it is now.

How we can Respond

Our political response to the urgency of our times is:

To pray. Paul wrote, ‘I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) So, we need to pray urgently and persistently.
To be good citizens. Good citizens do not overthrow by force. Good citizens vote! Good citizens abstain from violent revolt but they do not abstain from the democratic obligation to vote.
To be influencers. We all have circles of influence and can communicate positively with people who perhaps do not know what to do in our time of national distress. We can point them to Jesus, speak words of hope, help them to evaluate the options before them at this time, pray for them, and influence them by living out a Christian political resolve.

The Political Options Before Us

There are three ways set before us as we approach the 2024 elections:

Support, finance, and vote for the party currently in power that has proven itself over three decades to be dominated by corrupt, self-serving, law-breaking, and incompetent plunderers.
Support, finance, and vote for the more extreme parties that pose an even greater threat to our national life than does the ruling party.
Support, finance, and vote for the emerging multiparty coalition of opposition parties that in its charter appear more in line with biblical values and in the main consist of God-fearing non-Marxist people of integrity and goodwill.

Of the three options, I know that only the third will even come close to satisfying my need to be governed by men and women who most closely conform to biblical values, principles, and priorities. I also feel strongly that only the third option will lead us into a time of peace and general well-being.

Without such conditions, we will not be able to exist and thrive as people of the book, Christians, and Jesus-followers.

By the way, political parties cannot be Jesus-followers no matter what they call themselves because they do not have spiritual life. However, their individual members can be, and often are, Jesus-followers.

The Nascent Opposition Coalition

Seven political parties have recently met to agree on a way forward and will be opening membership to all parties prepared to subscribe fully to their shared mission and governing principles. The big idea is to form a coalition government in waiting. We will all then be able to vote for any member party in the knowledge that it will be part of the post-2024 government. Together they will act, from now through to the elections, to reach the millions of citizens who have stopped voting because of disillusionment and hopelessness, and the millions who have not ever voted.

They will need our prayers, support, involvement, and financial backing to do this. If they succeed then they will shortly rule our nation and we will have the opportunity of rebuilding a godly and prosperous society.

The new coalition government will govern in accordance with shared governing principles, which they list as a commitment to:

The South African Constitution, the rule of law, and equality before the law.
Decentralising power to the lowest effective level of government.
Accountable, transparent government with zero tolerance for corruption.
A capable government that spends public money efficiently to deliver quality services to all.
A caring government that puts people first and prioritises the poor.
An open market economy.
Policies guided by evidence that they produce positive results for society.
Redress our unjust past by promoting non-racialism and unity in our diversity.

In addition to these principles, they have established the following eight priorities:

Growing the economy and creating jobs.
Ending load shedding and achieving energy security.
Achieving law and order that combats crime, corruption, and drugs.
Ensuring quality education that delivers opportunities for all.
Delivering basic services to all through high-quality infrastructure.
Building a professional public service that delivers to all and ending cadre deployment.
Ensuring quality healthcare for all within a caring healthcare system.
Building a social relief framework for South African households living in poverty.

Now these principles and priorities are not uniquely Christian or biblical, but they do not contradict a biblical Christian view. We have to concede that Jesus-followers do not constitute the majority of citizens in our country and that constitutionally we are a secular state. I would dearly love to see our constitution changed back to its original preface, ‘In humble submission to almighty God, we the people of South Africa…’ and I believe that this might well be possible under the proposed coalition government. I also believe that if people of integrity, goodwill, and intelligence governed us, we would see many godly changes coming into our national life.

Read HERE for the contract signed by the seven founding parties to the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa.

Our Involvement

You might be tempted to think that all we need to do is pitch up at the voting station and make our marks against a coalition partner organisation. However, it may not even get that far, or it may not be as effective as hoped for, if we do not act now.

Each of us needs to pray for and support the coalition and we may even need to volunteer our services and financial support to the political party of our choice within the coalition. How are they going to reach the millions of non-voters without our help? How are they going to withstand the fury of the godless without our prayer and encouragement?

The matter is urgent, the times are critical and every one of us needs to arise from our complacency or fear-induced slumber and act! May Almighty God give us resolve, perseverance, and success. May He have mercy on us!

“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web Whoever eats their eggs will die and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.

So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead. We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.

For our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offences are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey

The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due. From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the LORD”.

Isaiah 59:1-20.

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TruthTalks: The Moment of Truth – Elections 2019

Leave a Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog, Podcast, TruthTalks / Christopher Peppler

As I hit ‘publish’ on this podcast the national elections are just one day away.

So, the best thing we as ordinary citizens can do right now is to pray and ask God to send revival to our nation… then VOTE.

Listen to theTruthTalk podcast based on THIS post plus a Q&A, by clicking on the play button below.

New Book Published

Revival. It always comes back to this, so I have published a short book titled ‘The 12 Key Aspects of Revival’ that I am making available free to everyone within my circle of influence. All you have to do is CLICK on the link below and you can download your own no-strings-attached copy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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The Malefic Media

4 Comments / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

Are many media people dancing on the end of strings manipulated by political masters, or are they themselves willfully misleading their audiences?

Of late, I have been waking up at 4 am and I have developed the bad habit of watching CNN as I sip my first cup of tea. For months now CNN, at that time at least, has been focusing on the USA primary election goings-on. Almost without fail Donald Trump is portrayed as a dangerous buffoon and Hillary Clinton as the only reasonable choice for president. They do this in a number of ways, but one particular airing captured the essence of it for me.

Media mind games

The host had three men on his show, two avid and very vocal Clinton advocates, and the other a member of the Trump campaign team. The Trump man went to great length to make it clear that he was an advisor to Donald on matters of policy, yet the host kept on addressing the matter of fund raising. His other two guests were allowed to interrupt and shout over him, but when he tried to interrupt he was curtly told to wait his turn. After trying to respond to a barrage of fundraising related statements he once again said something like, “I have told you repeatedly that I am a policy advisor and that I am not part of the fundraising team. I truly hope that you will eventually get to discuss matters of policy.” The host retorted with, “We will get to that shortly”… and within minutes he concluded the programme.

So, what’s going on here? It seemed to me that the host was following a predetermined script, had got the Trump man on the show under false pretenses, and was ensuring that the Hillary side came out on top.

Another example is the appalling number of clips shown which are out of the bigger context of what that person (usually Donald Trump) was actually saying. When you get access to the fuller version it becomes obvious that the media folk have put a distinct spin on the intended meaning.

In South Africa, at this time, I am witnessing a very similar lack of integrity in much of the media and I suspect that there is a political agenda driving a lot of what we see and hear.

The result of all of this is that I have come to believe that I just cannot trust what I am being told in the media and that if I want ‘truth’ I will have to dig it out myself… if I can.

In time gone by the media was regarded as the fourth societal estate. Its task was to hold the other three estates (rulers, clergy, and citizens) to account and to honestly and accurately inform the public accordingly. Sadly, this does not appear to be the case anymore.

If we want the truth then we should turn to:

Jesus, for He is the Truth (John 14:6)
The Bible because it reveals the truth, and
The church because it should be the conveyor of truth.

Of course, we can’t isolate ourselves from the media, but

we certainly should evaluate everything we see and hear against the standard of The Truth.

When I was younger I might have accepted uncritically what I saw and heard, but now I think twice about what is presented to me as ‘fact’ and tend to reject a lot more than I accept. Skeptical to the point of being cynical? Perhaps… but I would rather be a cynic than a gormless puppet on the end of a politically controlled media string.

I called this little rant ‘the malefic media’ because ‘malefic’ means ‘causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means’. I believe that the sea of half-truths and lies in which we are all drowning has distinctly supernatural overtones.

We are in a spiritual battle for the soul of our nations and only The Truth will serve to rescue us.

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