X Marks the Spot

Welcome to my blog, I certainly hope that you have been enjoying what I have been writing, I know that I have not been writing in awhile, because I have experience another major move in my life. I suppose it’s not that hectic but it definitely has shaken me a little in terms of the path that I thought I was on. Let me give you a bit of background. Well I’m now back in my homeland and hometown, Johannesburg, South Africa, it was not long ago that I was in Dubai, living there, getting settled there, but also wondering what I was doing there. My time there was filled with many challenges and hard though provoking moments, but also with joy filled moments of new opportunity and exciting adventure. Just as I was getting settled, surrendering that God has positioned me where he wants me, I got the call that I was gonna be sent back home as a result of cash flow difficulties within the company that brought me over to Dubai. I always knew that work was not the primary reason why I was going to Dubai, but it was always a means to be there. Although I have realised many reasons for going to Dubai for a time, I still have many questions on my mind about why my time there was a lot shorter than I thought, despite the strong convictions in my heart about that is where God wanted me to be. The flip side of this I realised that God positions us where he wants us to be, even if it was only three months. Im sure that I will be unpacking the lessons learned from my time in the desert for many years to come. Although it is sometimes hard to realise this, we are on an adventure with God every day, whether we are at home or away from home, whether we are at work or travelling the world let be open to the direction and the constant provision of God in our lives and turn to him every day to ask for guidance.

Troubling Times

It is with sadness that it has come to this, a world rife with war, hatred, dishonesty, corruption and a failing economic system. One would contest that the powers that be are not in control as the world as we know it spirals into its own destruction. But as a citizen of heaven, a cannot believe that a sovereign God will let injustice reign upon the earth that He has created. For He will use every situation, whether good or bad for his Glory, for He has all the dominion and power in the entire universe. This week my country goes to the election polls, I critical time in our history once again. It is a time when many hopes are fading in the light of the governing party and Mr Jacob Zuma failing to show integrity and honesty, in the undermining of the justice system escaping the 700 charges or so laid against him by the National Prosecuting Authority. It is my choice not to let the reality of the situation leave me feeling hopeless and despondent, but rather to stand up against the injustices through prayer and petition. So encourage you all who read this to get on your knees and ask that the sovereign will of God to be done and that His Kingdom may come here on Earth, in South Africa as it is in heaven.

This comes from the Global Day of Prayer:

Dear Friend!
We are indeed facing a critical Election on 22 April 2009
and your prayers will most certainly make a difference in the future of our
nation.As we are in the final few days leading up to our National Election
we want to request the following:

1. Set the time leading up to elections apart for prayer and fasting.
Pray for God?s will to be done and remind Him of His promises. " ... if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

2. Set specific time apart during church services on Sunday 19 April 2009 to pray for the elections.

3. Intentionally pray for peace in our nation. "First of all, then, I urge that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,
for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and
quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." (1 Tim. 2:1-3)

4. Commit to your responsibility to vote on 22 April 2009. Make sure that your vote will not deny your Biblical values and principles.

5. Vote prayerfully, carefully considering what God is asking of you in regards to:- Integrity and honesty (Am I voting for upright and honest people?)- Moral and upright policies (Does the party answer to the demands of morality and justice?)- Blind Loyalty (Do I cast my vote based on past loyalty or on what contribution the party is making towards a peaceful and just society?)- Intolerance and/or intimidation (Do I respect those whose opinion differ from mine and am I allowed to voice my opinion?)Yes, your vote in the upcoming election counts! For God?s will to
be done "on earth as it is in heaven", it is critical for His children to pray, to vote and to live as instruments of love and transformation.Let us trust the words of Luke 18:7-8: "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly."

The GDOP
Team

And so, Zuma is set free... Let us be active in prayer!

Taken From My Friend Dion's Blog...

Zuma free to go... this i was a negative watershed in the history of our young democracy. Yesterday the ANC showed its power in South Africa with the withdrawal of the fraud and corruption charges against Mr Jacob Zuma. He has used 100 million rand of our taxpayers' money to make sure that he doesn't go to court... I am truly concerned - however, as my friend Pete so aptly puts it, I am a South African and I take responsibility for our faults. I shall be working and praying for the future of our nation - we are facing tough times!

Here's Pete's post, it expresses my concern, and my commitment, far better than I could write it.

South Africa experienced a miracle in 1994.We moved from an oppressive racially based oligarchy to a democratically elected government. Our law was protected by an internationally acclaimed new constitution. And we boasted leaders of international stature ? politicians such as Nelson Mandela, priests like Desmond Tutu; jurists such as Arthur Chaskalson and Albie Sachs; and many eminent writers, musicians and scientists.We believed that we had something to offer the world. We believed that we had transcended narrow racial boundaries; moved beyond self-serving ideological disputes to build a ?rainbow nation?; and were able to make visible the African concept of Ubuntu . I have travelled to various places in the world to speak of our national ?miracle? experience?.Northern Ireland; York, England; and various Methodist Seminaries in the United States of America.Today I admit that I have been smugly deluded. I have allowed myself to be blinded by the newness of our land ? and have not noticed that the same old things are still happening:? The Apartheid politicians I despised had developed a system of self enrichment that was gleefully embraced by the new democratically elected representatives of the people. They learned how to inflate travel claims; and create jobs for their friends and family; and cobble together gifts and favours for themselves.? The amoral Apartheid politicians set up systems with international arms traders that were taken over by the new government. And the same bribes/rewards/incentives were gratefully pocketed.? The selfish Apartheid leadership manipulated the law to suit their personal agenda ? a lesson well learned by this next generation of leaders.And so today I witness Jacob Zuma, the next President of my country, weasel his way out of being charged for corruption and financial misappropriation of funds. He leads a political party that welcomed international solidarity when they were struggling for power ? but now it refuses to stand in solidarity with Myanmar and Tibet. This is the party that enthusiastically embraced Desmond Tutu when he berated the sins of the Apartheid government, but now dismissively insults him when he points out the sins of the current government.Today South Africa ceased to be something special amongst the nations of the world. We are just another Third World Country, adding to the litany of human rights failures.BUT: this is my country. I am reminded (once again) that the struggle for liberation is never finished. I have been placed by God in this country to speak for truth. I refuse to give up the dream for a better land for all.

Thou shalt not be a victim.
Thou shalt not be a perpetrator.
Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.- Holocaust Museum, Washington, D.C

A Word from Rob

Rob Bells Drops Like Stars tour

We plot, we plan, we assume things are going to go
A certain way and then they don’t and we find ourselves

In a new place, a place we haven’t been before, a place
We never would have imagined on our own,
And so it was difficult and unexpected and maybe even
Tragic and yet it opened us up and freed us to see
Things in a whole new way
Suffering does that—It hurts,But it also creates.
How many of the most significant moments in your
Life came not because it all went right, but because....It all fell apart?
It’s strange how there can be art in the agony…
The Drops Like Stars tour is a two Hour exploration of the endlessly complexRelationship between suffering and creativity—And I’d love to see you there. (Rob Bell in SA in June 2010)

Snow Skiing in Dubai…

Well last night I went snow skiing at Ski Dubai… what an incredible experience… I loved it from beginning to end. I must say I was blown away by how amazing it actually was to be skiing inside a giant fridge… The concept and design was just so fascinating. Its obviously hard to compare it to mountains and lengthy runs, but as far being as close to the real thing… its as good as you get. The runs were relatively short, but definitely long enough to put in a few turns and jumps and speed. It is an ideal place to learn to ski or snowboard before hitting the real thing. It was a great warm up for France next week.

What's in a Name

Some people have asked how I come up with the name Extreme Gravity for my blog? Well let me explain my thoughts behind my choice. Gravity is something that always draws you in, it’s a part of everyday life. It affects everything and without it, life would cease to exist. Gravity is something that you can’t see, although you can see the effects of it. In the same way, God is a little like gravity, you can’t see Him but you can see the effects of Him all around, He is always there. Without Him we would cease to exist. He is something that is constantly drawing us into him. Without Him we would be floating aimlessly around in the atmosphere, with no direction.

This is a little exert that my friend Jason wrote, it adds well to what I am describing here. “Lets take gravity. Its a natural law; it operates everywhere in our explored universe, and thank God for that! True, we can't fly because of it, and it would be quite nice to fly. But he'd be a fool who calls gravity a curse for this limitation of freedom. For 2 reasons: Firstly, have you ever meditated on how utterly indispensable Gravity is to our very existence? Without gravity there'd be no eating, because there'd be no food, because there'd be no plants, because there'd be no soil, because it would all be space dust! Without gravity there'd be no drinking, because there'd be no water, because it would be space vapour. Without gravity we'd live at about -273degrees Celcius because there'd be no sun, because all stars including our splendid sun would dissipate into the vast abyss of gravity-less space rather than holding together and generating the heat that warms our lovely little planet. Without gravity you could not walk, drive, play rugby, or open the fridge. Ladies, i'm afraid long hair and skirts would have to go. I guess the same goes for some guys.

Secondly, and now let me flip your mind just a little: while gravity in one way limits our ability to fly, in quite another way it provides the only means by which we can fly at all! yip, i said it: gravity is the only reason we can fly. now of course i mean controlled flight; but i think you'll all agree that helplessly floating off into the endless cosmos would put a mild dampner on... well pretty much the rest of our life! Its controlled flight we want: the ability to control our trajectory through the air or space to go from point A to point B in a reasonably certain amount of time. flying is in some ways an experience, in other ways a means of fulfilling plans and purposes, but is always only desirable as an instrument of either pleasure or purpose. floating off helplessly into space would eliminate any choice whatsoever, devastating all our desires and purposes and taking over our entire experience of life, rendering us powerless to actually live life at all. The very freedom we sought would eliminate all freedom altogether. Now the only reason we can fly in the way we do (in 747's, for example) is because the downward force of gravity is counteracted by the upward lift created by the wings of an aircraft, and we are able to balance the two out to provide ourselves with controlled upward and downward movement. Without gravity, there would be no downward force. But there would also be no upward force! there would be no atmosphere, so there would be no air pressure, so there would be nothing to create "lift". You could have wings the size of texas and you wouldn't create a nano-Newton of upward thrust. And so there would be no controlled flight. Some might say we have space shuttles which quite happily enjoy controlled flight by using thrust. Well, i'd pay a lot of money to see you trying to build a space ship without gravity!”

So there you have it… Extreme Gravity, I wouldn’t live without it.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour 2009 is a global initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature which acts as a Global call for action to every individual, business and community to take a stand against Climate Change. To show your support, sign up now and commit to switching off your lights for one hour on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30pm local time.
2008 saw an estimated 50 million people taking part. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. This year, 2009, Earth Hour will see the lights go out on some of the most recognised attractions on the planet, including Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, the iconic 6-star hotel, the Burj al Arab, in Dubai, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building, the Taipei 101. Earth Hour 2009 has one major aim: to unite the citizens of the world in the fight against climate change in order to convince governments and world leaders that our planet cannot wait any longer. There simply isn’t enough time, and therefore 2009 is a colossally important, if not the most critical year, to take action on climate change. 2009 is the year we decide the future of our planet.
Remember that the more people involved, the greater the impact, so be sure to spread the word by telling friends, family, colleagues and anyone else you know about Earth Hour.