Government Archives - Truth Is The Word

2024

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

I saw a cartoon the other day depicting a group of people peering fearfully around a corner towards a door marked ‘2024’. One of them was timidly poking the door open with a broomstick. I can’t reproduce it for you without infringing copyright and I was loath to even mention it because of the negative message it conveys. However, I think it puts the situation well because we have to face facts; our global and national situation is predominantly ‘negative’. I want so much to be optimistic as I peer through the slowly opening door of 2024, but I cannot.

It is better to face reality head-on and with open eyes, as we trust God to walk with us into the future.

There is every indication that 2024 could be a pivotal year for the world in general and South Africa in particular. What happens outside of my country will continue to affect us here at the tip of Africa, but it will also affect many of us personally through our family and friends in other parts of the world. However, I will only comment on the global situation in as much as it is likely to affect South Africa.

2024 Globally

It is obvious to anyone even vaguely politically, economically, and environmentally aware that the world is on an accelerating downward escalator.

Global warming, whatever its causes, has passed the critical point where the rate of change moved from rapid to exponential. Last year was, so say the experts, the hottest year in recorded human history, and there is no reason to think that this year will not be even worse. With this change come droughts, extreme weather conditions, and disruption. Food becomes scarcer and more expensive and people die or try to take over someone else’s patch of more productive land. The world population is on the move with emigrants and refugees swamping more stable and prosperous nations than the ones from which they are fleeing. This brings with it huge social and political instability and stress. War borders are expanding outwards threatening to engulf many nations. Ukraine and Russia continue to fight it out in the bloodiest of ways while nearby nations tremble at the negative prospects that threaten them. Israel fights a survival death-battle, while the Arab world tries to convince us that it is the Palestinians who are facing genocide. And, all the while North Korea eyes South Korea waiting for a time to devour it and China eyes the South China Sea territory with equally hungry eyes.

All this casts a huge stress on the rest of the world. Moreover, to top it all off the USA, the world’s last traditional superpower, is facing a contentious presidential election that could even further divide and destabilise. And my poor country, the tarnished rainbow nation, faces its own day of reckoning.

2024 South Africa

South Africa’s only contributions to the world crises seem to be to side publically and noisily with Hamas and the Palestinians, vote for the United Nations condemnation of Israel, and take Israel to the World Court of Justice for committing genocide. This does not help us as a nation in any way that I can see. On the contrary, it antagonises our major trading partners and investors without any noticeable recompense from China, Russia and the Arab nations. So, it looks like we will be facing our own meltdown without international support.

Sociologically, we have over 45% of the population surviving on state aid (social grants), a shrinking tax base unable to maintain this, and an exhausted national debt limit. About 40% of the population earns an income from formal employment, the murder, death, and rape rates are probably the highest in the world, corruption is endemic, and the roads, railways, and harbours are broken! Food prices are through the roof, housing prices slumped in most suburbs, and electricity supply has been cripplingly problematic … and so on.

On the political front, we have a national election that will take place sometime this year where the possible outcomes are all potentially momentous in one way or another. If the ANC retain 40% plus of the vote it is more than likely that they will be able to cobble together a coalition government with a few small parties or the EFF (Horror!) Whatever the constituency of this coalition, they will still be the majority and controlling party … and the slide into a failed state will no doubt continue. If the opposition Multi-Party Charter coalition wins 51% plus then things will at least have a chance of changing for the good, although the first few years will most likely be characterised by power plays between member politicians … but perhaps not. In the first scenario, we will plunge further and more rapidly into social and economic ruin, and in the second scenario, we will stop the plunge to destruction and even slowly turn the graph upwards in a growth trajectory. Both of these possibilities will mean that we the citizens will be facing years of uncertainty, threat, and hardship. Not pleasant to contemplate or accept but probably inevitable.

But, hold on Chris, aren’t you looking at the glass as half-empty rather than half-full? No, I am seeing it as a quarter full at best! We face that reality. OK, but what of the possibility of spiritual revival?

2024 Revival

I am one of those people who believe that we are yet to have the greatest revival in history.

God sends revival not as a reward, but as a response to the desperate spiritual need of the church and society.

The darker the day, the more we should expect the light of Heaven to break through. However, something that history has taught us is that although revivals come suddenly they tend to start locally and then slowly spread to other parts of a nation and then the wider world. Many folks think that if we in South Africa were to experience revival today, then everything would change overnight. This just does not seem to be realistic. John Wesley’s Methodist movement was a revival that some historians hold that it saved England from experiencing a French-revolution-type social uprising. This is probably true, but it did not all happen in a moment. John Wesley was a prolific preacher, addressing crowds twice a day almost every day of every week. In 1739 he preached his first open-air sermon, in 1741 he preached regularly in South Wales, in 1747 he preached (42 times) in Ireland and in 1751 he ministered 27 times in Scotland. That covers a period of about 12 years. It did not happen in a day!

The heart of true revival is that it does not only stir the emotions of crowds, but changes the lives of individuals. Those men and women go on to plant churches, influence business, and participate in government. The combined and accumulated effect of all this is a revival fire that transforms nations.

So, would revival change South Africa and other countries? Yes, but it will most likely take quite a bit of time. That then begs the question, ‘What should we do in 2024?’

2024 Individual Response

I don’t suppose there is much in this article that most of you do not already know, and the same applies to this final section. However, these three practical and personal suggestions bear repeating. We need to know and live out these things if we are to thrive in 2024.

Strengthen relationships with Jesus, family, friends, and church: Strengthening the relationship with the Lord Jesus should always be a priority, but never so much as now. It is he who said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) In addition Paul wrote: ‘God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6) Then the next most important relationship to strengthen is with spouses, children, parents, and extended family. Friends, true friends, are rare and valuable, and we need to be a friend and receive friendship in these times. Then there is the church, your local church, which could be an extended family for you.
Pray, expect revival, and submit everything to God: Pray alone, in groups, or as part of a congregation. Pray in tongues in the spirit. Expect revival at any time: if we do not expect it then we may not perceive it. I recently heard a church historian saying that we often only recognise revivals in hindsight. That is a little sad because it says a lot about the lack of response to revival when it comes.
Vote: I have written about this recently HERE, but let me repeat this: ‘If we do not democratically remove the current 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’.

2024 Read More »

Focus on Jesus

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

Top Image

This is a call for all of us as Christians to focus on Jesus this Easter.

Resurrection Sunday is just five days away but the focus of the world and the institutional church seems to be on everything except Jesus! Here in South Africa, the media are full of warnings of how the government’s Ministry Advisory Committee is calling for tighter lockdowns to avoid church ‘super spreader’ events. In response, an inter-church group of ministers is threatening to take the government to court if they clamp down further on church services. On the one hand, the focus is on fear of a Third Wave over Passover time, and on the other hand, the focus is on legal action and power. Where is Jesus in all this?

This year, April 2021, we need to focus more than ever on who Jesus is, what Resurrection Sunday signifies, and how the church functions as his spiritual ‘body’ in these times. Our hope is not in a new set of government lock-down regulations, and nor is it in court litigations. Our hope is as Peter expressed it when he wrote: ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ (1 Peter 1:3).

Focus Aids

In April 2019 I re-published some articles I had written in previous years, and you can find them HERE. In the same month, I preached on ‘The Easter Earthquakes, which you can find HERE. Then in April 2020, I published ‘What Happened After the Resurrection’ and you can access that HERE.

So this week, as we approach the celebration of the most momentous event in all of human history, may I suggest that you read and listen to these publications to help you refocus on the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Be blessed dear disciples.

Focus on Jesus Read More »

The worm has been turned

20 Comments / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog, Special Message / Christopher Peppler

We have come to a moment of destiny for South Africa.

We stand at a crossroads with one path leading to dictatorship and national destruction, and the other to the realisation of the dream of a democratic, non-racial, and prosperous country. We have, and we continue to intercede fervently for God to intervene…

…and I believe that He has, and He is, and He will!

I wrote this article in November 2016, after the courts had ordered that the Public Protector’s State Capture report be released. As I wrote it I was conscious of the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, but when I had completed the task I had a strong check in my spirit that I should not publish it just then. I had a sense that the timing was not right and that it lacked an essential element of redemption and hope. But, now I feel the time is right.

To combat darkness, we must all shine whatever light we have. This starts by speaking out into our circles of influence. This comment is my little light beam.

This article is addressed to South African Christians but applies in part to many nations at this time.

The ‘worm’, in Shakespeare’s quaint saying ‘the worm has turned’, refers to the ancient, fire-spewing dragon of myth and fairy lore. In our nation, South Africa, the dragon has not turned of his own choice, but because of the efforts of hundreds of brave saint Georges. The bravest of all dragon slayers is our erstwhile Public Protector but in her wake has risen a legion of true freedom fighters. And as the swords of truth and integrity rise high to strike, we look and observe with surprise that the dragon is actually just a worm after all.

I am convinced that we will look back on the 2nd November 2016 as the day the worm was turned. On that day the judges of the Supreme Court issued an order that the Public Protector’s ‘state capture’ report be immediately made public, and between every page crawled the maggots of corruption! Crooked business men, corrupt politicians, leaders of state-owned entities, and assorted other wigglers. The report does not so much reveal the danger of state capture but rather documents the critical evidence that the state has already been captured. Men and woman of ill will, greedy disposition, and misdirected loyalty sit snugly under every key rock in the formal garden of our state.

But light is now shining brightly on the areas of corruption. Paul wrote ‘Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible’ (Ephesians 5:11-14). The rocks are being turned over one by one and the light is shining brightly on the worms beneath. And what do worms do when exposed to light? They wiggle – and what a wiggling we are now witnessing! Barefaced lying, inane excuses, arrogant and angry claims that the Public Protector’s report is incorrect, biased and riddled with ‘gossip’… wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

We delude ourselves if we think that the number one worm will line up all his invertebrates behind him and slither off into the sunset. On the contrary, he will wiggle all the more, rage against white economic colonialism, disparage those wise and seasoned men and woman within his own party, and dig in as deeply as he can into the mud of control, manipulation, lies, and arrogant recalcitrance.

And all the while our economy is strangling and is gasping for breath, the horde of angry and disillusioned unemployed men and woman is growing to record highs, while the rating agencies are poised to downgrade our nation to junk status. But our leaders simply blame the rating agencies of being unfair and biased against emerging economies and bluster about creating their own rating agency, despite the lunacy of the notion. The next generation of thought leaders are either throwing stones at university security officers in their violent demands for free education or struggling to be able to write their examinations and qualify. All the while, provincial governments and state-owned entities are exposed as chalking up tens of billions of unauthorised expenditures, to the extent that the entire higher education bill could have been paid from the corruption and wastage alone. The power utility CEO brags about how clever he has been in keeping the nation supplied with electricity when everyone knows that the failing economy has reduced the demand for power considerably. Then the Public Protector reveals that this CEO is under scrutiny for mismanagement at best and blatant corruption at worst. His response is to cry crocodile tears, literally, and then resign – problem solved… not! The head of the National Prosecuting Authority tries to have the Minister of Finance arrested on trumped-up charges and at the same time, he does nothing about obeying a court order to reinstate the over 700 charges against the State President. And so it goes, a painful and pathetic litany of moral and ethical failure, greed, and arrogance, followed by exposure, denial, and a total lack of accountability.

What is to be done? Can we afford, and I mean that literally, to wait until the process of successive elections slowly changes the balance of power in our nation? Will we have a nation worthy of the name left by then? Or can we justify and risk civil unrest, revolt, and a coup? I shudder at both of these alternatives!

As passionate believers in the ability of Almighty God to change reality, we can ask Him to intervene. We can acknowledge that we have probably been given the government we deserve but we can say, with painful sincerity, that we have learned our lessons, and that we commit ourselves to a just, lawful, moral, ethical, and godly system of government and society. We can plead with God to send revival to His church, to remove the evil from our structures of power, and to give us another chance. Then we need to submit ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to what actions we should undertake to follow our words of protest.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you”.
Isaiah 60:1-2

In the early hours of Friday the 31st March 2017, the president of South Africa made his big move to grab power over the country from the hands of the ruling party. Without consulting his leaders, he announced a massive cabinet reshuffle designed to achieve three tactical objectives; to place his sycophants in the remaining cabinet posts not yet personally loyal to him, to secure a greater number of parliamentary seats that he could count on, and to capture the national treasury. In a flagrant display of arrogance and contempt for his party and the people of the land, he fired the most efficient minister in his cabinet on the grounds that he was improving efficiency and effectiveness. His flimsy and unpublicised excuse for axing the minister of finance was a ridiculously inept and incomprehensible ‘Intelligence report’ claiming that the minister was engaged in treasonous activity. Yesterday one of the three major rating agencies degraded South Africa to junk status and a second will follow suite by the end of the week. As I write this, our markets have not yet opened but I am expecting a disastrous fall in the value of the Rand. However, despite the deepening darkness let me switch on the light of hope.

On Monday 27th March the Revival Prayer Meeting of our local church met as usual. Unsurprisingly, the major focus of our prayers was intercession for our nation. We prayed that God would step in and dramatically intervene and we acknowledged our dependence on Him. One prayer went as follows;

‘Please Lord, just as you sent an angel to confront Balaam will you not stand before our president with your hand up and say, ‘Enough! Stop! Be silent”’.Before the meeting ended we had a deep sense that there were thousands of groups of Christians all across our land interceding just as we were.

The next day a grand old stalwart of the liberation movement died and the day after that was laid to rest. At his funeral, former president Kgalema Motlanthe read out Ahmed Kathrada’s message from the grave, that Jacob Zuma should step down for the sake of the nation. This funeral service signalled a great intervention by Almighty God because it initiated waves of response and resolve that are now washing over the nation like ever-expanding ripples in a pond.

I believe that over the next few weeks we are going to witness, and even participate in, the decisive ‘turning of the worm’ and the start of a new era for our nation. There is more drama to come and I anticipate brazen and desperate attempts by the Zuma faction to stay in power. But, I do believe that God is acting on behalf of righteousness and that soon, very soon, we will be praising His name for another great miracle in our land.

The Lord Jesus had remarkably little to say to the political rulers of His time, but what he said to Herod is so appropriate. Luke 13:31-32 ‘At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’…” Perhaps we could paraphrase this and apply it to our times and situation with these words; “Go tell that worm, ‘I will drive out the demons and heal this land and her people, and surely I will accomplish my goal’”.

The worm has been turned Read More »

Politics, the Pulpit and People

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

It is often said that sex and politics should be taboo topics in the church, so should politics be off-limits for preachers?

Politics is commonly defined as ‘the activities associated with the governance of a country or province’. If this is how we understand ‘politics’, then of course all Christians should be interested and concerned with how their country is governed. In Romans 13 Paul instructs believers to submit to governing authorities, and in 1 Timothy 2 he urges us to pray for everyone in authority ‘that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’

If you would prefer to HEAR this message, you can click on the play button below and listen to this short (7 minute) interview I gave on this topic..

If you prefer reading it, then continue on…

…On this basis, Christians should engage with politics. The extent of this engagement will range from simply being good citizens, all the way through to being career politicians. However, Christian leaders and preachers are not primarily politicians, and rather have the responsibility of helping their people to determine what constitutes good governance and what role they, as individuals, need to play in the political life of their nation. They also need to teach into how we are to react and respond to ungodly government. However, when it comes to preaching, there does seem to be a line that the church should not cross; the line between national or provincial politics, and party politics.

Vote For Christ Just as the pulpit should not be a forum for selling things or promoting secular interests, just so it should not be used for peddling a particular political persuasion. In South Africa we are about to hold provincial elections and I, like all responsible citizens, will be casting my vote. I have a decided preference for one of the political parties contesting the elections and I feel at liberty in sharing my views, on a one-on-one basis with friends and family.

However, I would be abusing my privilege and mandate as a preacher if, in a sermon, I tried to persuade the congregation to vote for the party of my choice. Rather, my role within the church should be to set out the values and principles that govern how a Christian should vote.

What then are these principles and how should we apply them?

We as Christians have a duty to cast our votes. Abstaining is, in almost all circumstances, just a way of shirking the responsibility of being a good citizen, and we as Jesus-followers should be exemplary citizens.
We need to evaluate the political parties competing for our votes and decide which one is worth supporting. When there is more than one party that has a decided chance of winning then we should vote for the party that best embraces core biblical governmental values and has sincere believers in its executive.

What do I mean by core biblical governmental values?

I mean things such as integrity, honesty, work ethic, economic common sense, freedom of religion and expression, accountability to law and constitution, lack of corruption, lack of racial or minority group prejudice, and so on. As Christians, we all have views on things such as gay marriage, abortion,capital punishment and things of this nature, but I do not see these as ‘core’ governmental values. But if you do, then you would need to add them to your set of criteria against which to evaluate each political party.

When there is little to no chance of any party other than the majority or ruling party winning the elections, and that particular party fails to meet core Christian values, then we need to give serious consideration to voting for a strong opposition party. The proviso of course is that the opposition party needs to meet the same criteria established for your evaluation.

If there is an ostensibly ‘Christian’ party in the running then they should be worthy of support provided they have shown themselves to be true to what they say they believe, and also provided that they are serious contenders to either win the election of be a viable opposition party. Sadly, often such parties are just too small and poorly resourced to be regarded as serious and viable contenders.

So, to sum up, it is my opinion that politics in a general sense is indeed something with which we as Christians should engage. Party politics, on the other hand are outside of the church’s mandate yet should be of concern to all individual Christians as part of our responsibility as citizens.

We all need to cast our votes and we should do so in a way which will best yield godly governance in our province and nation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Politics, the Pulpit and People Read More »

A Word of Witness

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

South African Constitution

This is a long post, but one which I feel compelled to write. I hope you will read it through to the end and then comment freely to add your ‘word of witness’.

There is a foul wind blowing across the nations of the world, and its malignant force is most obvious in the land of my birth, the Republic of South Africa. Many local voices are speaking out at this time, but we all need to add our words until the gale of righteous protest is strong enough to counter the evil wind we confront. We all have something to say, we all have a circle of influence, and we are all citizens with birth rights and responsibilities.

It is easy to identify the effects of this noxious squall: poverty, violent crime, economic woes, and political instability. These are just broad categories, but the effects are intensely personal. Our people are dying, our women are being raped, many of our youth are derelict, addicted and without hope. Our currency is becoming increasingly worthless, our education standards a cause of sad derision, and our political antics a pathetic parody of leadership.

What is not so obvious though are the underlying causes of our current calamity. It is too easy and trite to simply blame the past, but we have to go deeper, for the underlying issues that blighted the past are the same that are devastating the present. And it will come as no surprise that the same malevolent causes of our current condition have been evident throughout human history.

The prophet Isaiah identified them in the ancient nation of Israel when he raised his voice and proclaimed:

“For our offenses are many in your sight,

and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses 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”.

Isaiah 59:12-15

When we investigate the causes of today’s obnoxious gusts we find three low-pressure areas; injustice, unrighteousness, and untruth. Furthermore, there is one calamity that has given rise to this malign trinity, but to appreciate this fully we first need to understand these three.

Injustice has been a problem for our nation for several generations. In the past, it was most evident in racial prejudice and social inequality. Today it manifests in a number of ways. It is unjust that power, privilege, and wealth are in the hands of a few while the majority live in want of all three. In the past, the culprits were exclusively white, but today colour is not the determinant, despite the vain attempts of government mouthpieces to say otherwise. It is unjust that many politically connected criminals go free while multitudes of lesser offenders languish in an overloaded penal system. It is unjust that millions of our young people are subjected to expensive and increasingly worthless education. And it is unjust that those who deeply desire to work the land, run business, and contribute to society in other ways cannot do so because the opportunities are given to the family, friends and sycophants of those in power.

What is just or unjust is meant to be determined by the justice system of the nation, and it is here where the foul wind is blowing strongest. Despite their transparently disingenuous protestations to the contrary, the political leaders of our land are consistently attacking our juristic foundations. The examples are all too numerous: flouting international law and then protesting that our nation should not be subject to it, blatantly overturning the lawful ruling of the Public Protector, and then pleading ignorance of constitutional law; and so on, ad nauseam. The government agenda is obvious as it seeks to break down that which it is constitutionally responsible for upholding. The latest, not so subtle, onslaught against justice came the other day. The constitutional court ruled that our president had acted in a way that violated the constitution of the country, and his response was to address a gathering of traditional leaders and state that he would be very happy if matters could be settled outside of the legal system because judges dealt only with cold facts and did not take into consideration other perspectives. I need say no more!

The second low-pressure system over our land is unrighteousness. At a social level, this translates as, ‘lack of moral virtue’. When we look at the lives of our president and his henchmen, what do we observe? We see adultery, fornication, greed, corruption, lying, and arrogance. I am a 68-year-old with the incredulity that comes with age, but what of our young people? What models are they observing, and what are they aspiring to as they seek to emulate the powerful figures in our nation?

And as for truth, well Isaiah expressed it better that I ever could when he said that ‘truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey’. It is appalling to realise that we expect politicians to lie. When they spin the truth, distort the truth, or just flat out lie, we tend to grimace or laugh and wait for the next outrageous fabrication. Quotes given in blatant isolation of their context, half-truths and pathetically nonsensical prevarications are the norm. Yet politicians are supposed to be servants of truth, justice, and the wellbeing of the people. They should be held to the highest standard and we, the citizens of the land, fail ourselves and future generations when we do not demand the best from them and of them. But, as it stands now, truth is a swear word, honesty an inconvenience, and anyone who shuns this evil becomes a prey, as is obvious in how our Public Protector has been treated.

It is no coincidence that Matthew applied Isaiah’s prophecy to the Lord Jesus when he said; “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim JUSTICE to the nations” (Matthew 12:18). And Paul was choosing his words carefully when he concluded his sermon to the people of Jerusalem with; “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the RIGHTEOUS One and to hear words from his mouth” (Acts 22:14). And Jesus was quite specific when he declared; “I am the way and the TRUTH and the life” (John 14:6). So, to look for justice, righteousness, and truth we need to look to Jesus, the divine incarnation of these qualities.

Now, the underlying source of our bad national air is also found in Isaiah’s words; ‘For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God,’ When our new constitution was hammered out some twenty years ago, it was presented to the nation as the body of fundamental principles by which our secular state would be governed. Accordingly, the preamble to the constitution reads ‘We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic…’ The original document did not read this way, but commenced with the words, ‘In humble submission to Almighty God, we the people of South Africa…’ The label ‘secular state’ carries with it the idea of being non-religious, and so the first six words were erased from the constitution. This, in my view, was a disastrous deletion. Those six words would place the constitution and the people who are governed in terms of it under the authority and providence of Almighty God. They imply that there is a higher source of authority and that the constitution itself is an expression of the values established by this higher power, God. Those six words would have given context and perspective to all that the constitution embodies and a final point of reference for the way our government lives up to their constitutional obligations.

If we, the people of South Africa, are to survive the poisonous winds that threaten us, then we must restore Justice, Righteousness, and Truth to our nation.

Ultimately we must restore the lost phrase to our constitution; ‘in humble submission to Almighty God’. And this restoration must start with us, ‘the people of Almighty God’. It is we, who are sons and daughters of the Most High, who need to raise the standard and raise our voices. If we, the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, do what is right, if we speak out to the rulers of our land, and if we humble ourselves and pray for divine intervention, will God not bring a mighty Revival hurricane to blow away the foul wind of corruption, lies, and violence that pollutes our nation?

What can we do to make a difference? We can recognise the true causes of our national ailment, we can speak out into whatever circle of influence we have, and we can pray and ask God to send a mighty wind of revival through the church and across our nation. In this wind of the Spirit, the injustice, unrighteousness, and untruth of our current leaders will be exposed. In this wind of the Spirit, Christian men and women will be inspired to stand up and ascend to the positions of power in our land. In this wind of the Spirit, we the people of South Africa will be refreshed and empowered to take our place as citizens of a nation that is in humble submission to Almighty God.

If you agree with what I have written, then please share this article so that our combined voices can go out into our circles of influence.

A Word of Witness Read More »

Government