Darkest Before Dawn

1 Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

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I have written a long article ready for publication titled ‘The Dark Night of our Nation’s Soul’ which was drawn from Isaiah 59. However, the Holy Spirit has arrested me and directed me to rethink when and if I should publish it. My aim was to focus on the light of Revival as the only viable solution to our nation’s woes. This conviction has not changed, but there is another way I can express it other than bemoaning the darkness. For instance, the next chapter in Isaiah is, of course, chapter 60 and this starts with the gloriously well-known passage:

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

Isaiah 60:1-2 ESV

Context

What is very noticeable about this statement by Isaiah is that the first verse is in the present tense while the rest of the passage is in the future tense. Your light has come… glory has risen upon you… darkness shall cover… glory will be seen.

Chapter 59 presents Israel as living in deep moral and material darkness yet in his next breath the prophet tells them that God’s light has already risen upon them. They are like a man standing in the deepest darkness who is unaware that behind him a light is already shining. He cannot see the light because it is behind him and the shadows before him are very dark. This was Israel’s condition, and it is our current condition.

Before us and around us we see and sense darkness, but perhaps we need to turn around in order to see the light.

The Light Behind Us

In our church service this Sunday, we sang a song with the chorus lines. ‘And all my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good…’ As I sang these words, I was praying silently, “It is true Lord. You have been so good and faithful to me. Thank you Jesus”. Of course, there have been hard parts in my personal history with all the pain, confusion, and sadness that is a part of life. However, when I think back, I can see that God’s goodness, grace and mercy has always shone brightly. (I wrote my personal testimony HERE if you would like to read it) The problem is that sometimes, like these present days, our eyes get blinded by the darkness and cannot see the light behind us. This of course is an illusion, because darkness is just the perceived absence of light and cannot blind us. However, we can’t see too well in the darkness unless we turn around and catch the glimmers of light reflecting off our past realities and our current circumstances.

The Light Around Us

The light of the Lord is a spiritual and not a physical light. It shines from a dimension beyond the perception of the six normal senses. This spiritual light enters our worlds through many windows such as the scriptures, the inner spirit, and fellow disciples of Jesus.

If we stop searching for the light in the scriptures, then we are turning our backs on the light. If we cease seeking for the light within our spirits, then darkness dominates our spiritual vision. In addition, when we sever contact with other spirit-filled believers, then we isolate ourselves from the light that shines through the windows of their souls.

The COVID-19 lockdown has been a brutal thing in so many ways and has isolated each of us in into our own small corners. Do you remember that children’s song from Sunday-school days about our small corners? ‘Jesus bids us shine, with a clear, pure light. Like a little candle burning in the night. In this world of darkness, so we must shine, you in your small corner, and I in mine’. Well, to benefit by the light that we each bear, we need to connect, and this is one of the reasons that the gatherings of the church are so important. If I had not been at the church service on Sunday I would not have sung of God’s faithful goodness towards me, I would not have heard others testifying to this, and I would most likely not have seen the light around me.

‘For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The Light Before Us

There are two ways in which the light is before us, past and a future tense. Isaiah probably had no idea that he was not only encouraging Israel, but also prophesying the coming of the Messiah. Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John wrote that ‘in him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.‘ (John 1:4-5) Jesus is the light of the world, both 2000 years ago when he walked on Earth, and now. Every person who is born again of the Spirit is a light bearer and a member of what Paul described as the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:12); we are fellow sons and daughters of the Light (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

In another sense, the light is still before us on the timeline of the ages. In Revelation 21:23 John uses the analogy of a city to describe Heaven, and writes that it ‘does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp’. However, the same book of Revelation hints strongly at a foretaste of the light of heaven in a last and greatest spiritual revival.

However, we only have to read the bible and consider church history to see that God sends the light of revival in the darkest times. Our present time is very dark – (and not just from load-shedding) both in South Africa and the world at large, and so should we not expect God to send revival?

Jesus Revival

In the yet to be published article I referred to earlier, I gave revival as the only truly foreseeable positive scenario for the future of South Africa. However, we cannot generate true revival no matter how much we declare it, structure for it, or pretend that it is already here. Revival is a sovereign act of God, preceded only by prayer. A few years ago I wrote a series on Revival and you can read it by following the links listed HERE or you can purchase the book in its entirety it from Amazon HERE. I urge you to do this because our need for revival is critical and urgent and we need to be asking God to send it ASAP!

Light Upon Light Upon Light

So, within our current darkness, we have past, present, and future light. We have the light of Jesus who was and is the very light of the world; we have the light of our remembrance of the light of the Lord in our own lives; we have the light of fellow light-bearers all around us, and we have the great light of future revival and ultimate heaven. This is why Paul can write:

‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. 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.

This is why it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper,

Rise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”‘

Ephesians 5:8-14

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Good Tidings

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

Top Image Yesterday, I received both good tidings and bad. One was a forwarded WhatsApp voice message and the other an internet link.

Isaiah 52:7

Three weeks ago the Holy Spirit led me to re-read Isaiah 52:7: ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”’

What I took away from this was that

I should focus my writing, at least for now, on encouragement, hope, and love. I guess that this is a pretty good mandate for all of us.

So, bearing this in mind, I now wondered how I should respond to the very disturbing voice message passed on to me.

The Voice Message

The message was from a man who claimed to have been informed by his GP that those living in Gauteng were about to experience the full might of the pandemic that has stalked us for the last three months. He went on to say that the virus was causing bizarre conditions not previously witnessed and that we should all place ourselves back into Level 5 lockdown. He added a lot of fear-inducing detail and advice. The timing coincided with the latest pronouncement by our Minister of Health of what he called the pending COVID-19 ‘storm’, and this gave the voice message an appearance of legitimacy.

The ‘bad news’ went viral and I even had it forwarded to me by a friend now living in the United States. Fortunately, the doctor who was ‘quoted’ as the source got to know about the message and immediately disclaimed it. The guilty party then owned up and made a public apology, claiming that the message was only intended for his immediate circle to shock them into being more careful. Hmmmmm!

My Response

I am writing about this because the dissemination of this sort of ‘news’ is such a serious issue. The message must have caused fear and anxiety to rise in everyone who heard it. This wave of fear will continue to many more people as it continues to be passed on, despite the disclaimers made. It was a blatant lie in parts and, at best, misinformation from someone not qualified to advise others on such matters. Any caution it could have instilled was overwhelmed by the negative effects of fear, anxiety, and anger.

However, it has made me think about the many people who must have received the message but did not pass it on. So, to those folks (hopefully you dear reader) I say:

Well done for exercising common sense, for applying logic and identifying the several ‘red flags’ that indicated that the message was ‘fake’.
Thank you for not passing it on ‘just in case’ it was true; you prevented many people from experiencing anxiety, fear, and confusion.
Thank you for acting responsibly.

The Good News Internet Link

The second communication I received yesterday was from my son. He sent me THIS. I scrolled down over page upon page of good-news stories from around the world. Not anecdotes or testimonies, but mini-presentations of things happening in our world that are positive, innovative, productive, and world-bettering. Now, this is something worth forwarding to others.

The Gospel

The news items in the ‘beautifulnewsdaily’ collection are economic, medical, financial, and so on. We Christians have good news that tops them all and is always worthy of being shared.

God reigns. Peace has been restored between the Godhead and humanity through Jesus Christ of Nazareth. All who believe can be saved. God is with us now and we can be with him eternally.

So, again: ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”’

Footnote

I have previously written in more detail about the real plague of false news and I strongly recommend that you read THIS, even if for the second time 😉

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What Happened After the Resurrection

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

Every year Christians pay a lot of attention to what happened before Easter Sunday, but what happened after the Resurrection?

Before Easter, many folks from some of the older denominations observe Lent. Starting from Ash Wednesday they observe a forty-day season incorporating The Annunciation, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. However, what is not generally observed is the forty-day period after his resurrection when Jesus appeared to select people. In this article, I want to focus on what he said to some of these people and how he acted towards them. I will be concentrating, not on the doctrinal aspects of this, but on the motives and emotions displayed.

Mary Magdalene

Mary was the first person to interact with Jesus after his resurrection. She was distraught, not only because just days before she had witnessed Jesus dying on the cross, but because the tomb where they had laid his body was now empty. She became aware of someone standing behind her, but she thought he was the gardener. He asked her why she was crying and who she was looking for. She asked him where he had taken the body of her Lord and he replied with just one word,“Mary.”

Perhaps it was because he knew her name that enabled her to recognise him through her tears, or perhaps it was the tender tone in which he said it. I suspect that it was the later.

Jesus then told her to go and tell the disciples that he was only going to be present for a short while and would then have to return to his Father. (John 20:10-18) What is particularly significant is that Jesus chose to reveal himself for the first time in his resurrected form to Mary before even to John or Peter. By doing this he indicated the special love he had for her and also her status among his disciples. In those days, women were regarded as inferior to men and not to be taken seriously, but Jesus thought otherwise.

Simon Peter

In the evening of Resurrection Sunday, Jesus appeared to his disciples, but 1 Corinthians 15:5 records that at some time between dawn and dusk of that day Jesus first met with Peter. We don’t know what he said to Peter because nothing is recorded in the Gospels concerning this. It must have been a private meeting, just between the two of them. How would Peter have been feeling at the time? Well, he had betrayed the Lord and fled and as a result had not been there for Jesus when he died on the cross. Peter must have been feeling devastated – ashamed, desperately sad, and worthless. But Jesus chose to appear to him before meeting with the other disciples. What comfort this must have been for Simon Peter.

The two on the road to Emmaus

Sometime during the course of Resurrection Sunday, Jesus met with two disciples who were journeying from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were not part of the group of twelve and the scriptures do not even give us their names. Yet Jesus chose to walk with them and to give them a bible study unlike any ever received from Jesus. ‘He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27) What a privilege! What made them special? Probably nothing, but Jesus chose to favour them; two ordinary unknown men.

The disciples

That evening, while the two from the encounter on the road were telling the disciples what had happened, Jesus suddenly appeared in the room with them (Luke 24:36). John 20:19-24 adds the detail that the disciples were in a locked room in fear of being arrested; no wonder that they were startled when they saw him. But I want to skip to the next time that Jesus met with his disciples because on that Sunday night James was missing from the group. John 20:26-28 records for us how Jesus returned a week later to appear again to his band of disciples that this time included Thomas. Why did Jesus do this? The only answer obvious from the Gospel account is because Thomas doubted that Jesus had truly risen from the dead and had appeared to the others. Jesus did not scold him or criticise him, but instead provided him with solid physical evidence. For me, Thomas stands in scripture not so much as ‘doubting Thomas’, but as ‘Blessed Thomas’, a man who received abundant grace and compassion from the Saviour.

The Galilee appearances

John 21, Matthew 28 and 1 Corinthians 15 record or mention two other appearances by the risen Lord of Life. He met with his disciples at the sea of Galilee, ate with them and reestablished Peter as the leader of his church. Then at another time, he met with James and also appeared to a group of about 500 people.

The Ascension

Jesus’ last appearance to his disciples was on mount Olivet where he blessed them and then ascended into Heaven. Luke gives the detail that this occurred on the Bethany side of the mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-53) probably at or very near to the spot where he had stood and grieved over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37). But why did Jesus choose this particular spot?

We know that the town of Bethany was where the home of his dear friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus was located and that it was Jesus’ home base in the days leading up to the crucifixion. Since leaving Nazareth to start his public ministry, this must have been the nearest thing to a home that Jesus had on Earth. Upon the hill overlooking this home was the place Jesus chose to return to his eternal home in heaven, his Father’s home.

What we can draw from this

I am writing this article in extraordinary times. The Corona Virus Pandemic is sweeping the world and I, like millions of others are under lockdown. Things are growing desperate as food runs out for so many of the poor, untold scores of people from all parts of society have lost their jobs. Most people are anxious and even afraid and many are lonely. So at times like this, it is comforting to consider how Jesus treated ordinary people like us.

He comforted and affirmed his friend Mary, restored Peter’s dignity and purpose, and poured out his grace and knowledge upon two unknown disciples. He assured Thomas, blessed his followers, and the last thing he probably saw as he ascending back to heaven was the home of his friends.

Would he not reach out to each of us, equally ordinary people, in our confusion and disquiet? Yes he would; yes he does.

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Looking Forward

1 Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

At the end of each year, many folk like to look back and review the year, but I prefer to be looking forward to the year ahead. The events of 2019 are now fixed in history and there is nothing I can do with them except learn and adjust. But 2020 is history still to be written and each of us has a pen with which to write.

Trying to predict the future is an essentially futile endeavour, for no one but God knows what is yet to come. But what I, and you, can do is look to The Lord with hope and faith for the year before us. With this in mind, I offer you the two passages of scripture that are before me today.

Ephesians 5:15-17 ‘ Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is’.

Psalm 25:1-2, 4-5 “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God… Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long”.

One of my hopes for 2020 is that we would see a genuine Jesus-centred Holy Spirit revival sweep through our land. If you would like to find out more about the why, what and how of Revival then just click on the link below for my free book on this subject.

May the Lord bless us, keep us, and make His face shine on us in 2020.

Free Book on Revival… Plus More https://truthistheword.com/revival-book-complimentary-access/ Click on the link and you will be able to download the book plus you ill be included in a twice-a-month series of emails from me giving you LOTS of additional free content.

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When Darkness Falls

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

‘When Darkness Falls’ is an appropriate title for this article because all of us living in South Africa have once again been subjected to rolling blackouts, euphemistically referred to as Load Shedding.

It is not just that this is inconvenient, annoying, and disruptive to us as individuals, it is also hugely damaging to our nation. Businesses lose sales, industries lose production, labourers lose jobs, and the country will very soon lose the last remnant of its investment-grade status. Of course, all this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg because Load Shedding is but one symptom of a nation in crisis. Sigh!

In the midst of this ‘controllable crisis’, as the government minister calls it, the jokers, quippers, and cartoonists are emerging. Many of their efforts are really funny and I wish I could see the smile on my wife’s face when she reads them on her smartphone, but I can’t because it’s too darn dark (just kidding). Making light of something is one of our ways of dealing with fear and hardship. If we can’t get the lights on, we can at least get lighthearted, right?

However, humour doesn’t help to actually solve our problems, personal or national. What we need are visionary leaders, well-conceived plans, competent managers, and a national will to make things work. But we need even more than this, we need both realism and faith, hope, and love.

Why realism?

We need to be realistic in our expectations. Eskom is not going to transform into a model energy provider in a few months or even a few years. As a nation, we will undoubtedly fall fully into the ‘junk’ investment status and that will add another blow to our staggering economy. The political smog of war will not suddenly clear revealing a great saviour figure. Rather, the ruling party will continue for quite some time to wage their internal power-struggle and the opposition parties will continue to be opportunistic snipers and disruptors. Crime levels will not even stabilise until a great number of jobs are created and the police and judicial systems cleaned up and revitalised.

Yes, it’s dark now, and it is bound to get darker before the dawn. And after that, well, I am still optimistic that with God’s grace and help we can realise our hope for a just and prospering South Africa.

Love

Ok, so much for realism, but what about faith? The three prime virtues of the Christian Faith are Love, Hope, and Faith Love for our nation is called nationalism and whilst pride in and love for our nation is a heart-stirring ideal, it is more the result than the cause of transformational change. Our politicians can make any number of nation-inspiring speeches (even if we had inspirational leaders), but talk does not create reality. However, we can and should love our fellow citizens of all races, genders, and religions and help each other through the dark times. This we can all do, and perhaps “many hands make ‘light’ work” after all.

Hope

Hope is the anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19); an anchor cast into the future that we grasp to pull our life-boat forward. However, hope must be based on trust and trust is based on positive past performance. Hope in something or someone we cannot trust is just wishful thinking and a ‘paper anchor’. But, there is one person we can trust, who’s past performance makes Him worthy of our trust, and that is Jesus Christ. We can and should put our hope in Him – in what He has done in giving us new spiritual life, in the example of His life and works, and in what He teaches us to be and do. We can place our hope in Him, and we can try as best we can to share this hope with those around us, both Christians and non-Christians alike.

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15)

Faith

The third of the golden-three is Faith. Christian faith goes beyond the more reasoned concept of hope to fully embrace the goodness, reliability, and divine perfection of God. It is a certainty that yields unconditional surrender to the object of our faith. And that object of our faith is not wealth, or education, or a politician, or ourselves, or even faith itself. The ‘object’ of our faith must and can only be the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate and eternally with us. This faith comes in part from a rational appreciation of the biblical evidence, but more so from the witness of the Holy Spirit within us. We can share this faith with others in our nation by helping them to ask for and receive the rebirth of their spirits in and through Jesus Christ.

So what can WE do in these dark times? We can be realistic about the prospects and time frame of national reconstruction, and we can be those who practice, share, and teach Faith, Hope and Love; and this we can do. And guess what? As we do this, WE can play a part in restoring our nation and making it a great place for our grandchildren.

Two scriptures that speak so powerfully to us in these days are Isaiah 60:1-2 and Matthew 5:14-16. Here they are. God bless you, dear reader. Be encouraged as you end 2019 and enter the new year that lies ahead.

Isaiah 60:1-2 “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. NIV

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” NIV

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