This weekend was simply loaded with great sporting moments. Lewis Hamilton is 10 points clear at the top of the driver’s championship with a rain-influenced win at the Japanese Grand Prix and World number 792 Oliver Wilson saw off world number 1, Rory Mcllroy, for his maiden European PGA win. Manchester United are back in the BPL top 4, for the 1st time in over a year, and Michael Phelps has been a naughty boy. We’ve got all these details and more in this week’s Weekend Sports Wrap.
Brad K
Weekly Roundup – 3 Oct ’14
What are some of the hottest, trending topics of the week? We’ve got the answer on our 1Africa Weekly Roundup. Weddings, selfies, bionic hands and bust ear drums, we’ve got all the details.
Share the Gospel
I read something in the Bible that made me laugh. I’m convinced that humour was not the practise when penning the pages of the Word so maybe I was just in a silly mood, but something appealed to me while reading from Acts Chapter 17 about Paul on one of his missionary journeys through Europe. While in Athens, he spoke openly about Jesus, His death and resurrection. He stood in the synagogues and in the marketplace and they liked what he had to say. The intellectuals were drawn to what he had to say. They invited him to talk about the Gospel to them because they thought he was bringing some ‘strange ideas to their ears’ and they liked it! The part that tickled me was the comment in verse 21, where Luke wrote that they were interested because they spent all their time just doing nothing. All day long they talked about and listened to the latest ideas! In retrospect, it’s not as funny as when I read it the other day, but I still have a silly picture in my head of men in togas looking a bit overweight and under-inspired! A couple of thousand years down the line, with the addition of the internet and more complicated clothing, not much has changed in man’s search for new and strange ideas that tickle the ears. So much information and seemingly more choices, but still one great need: The search for Truth.
The biblical Athenians raised an idol ‘to an unknown god’ (verse 23) and the need to praise, honour, respect and submit to something greater has never changed, because that is how we have been created. I love the idea of spending all my time doing nothing but talk about and listen to the greatest new ideas, but I don’t need to figure this big one out. I already have. If you’re a Christ follower, so have you. We know who our God is and what He has done. Paul needed to explain this to the Greeks, just as we’ve had it explained to us and we need to let others know about it. We don’t need to be part of some Mediterranean brains trust. The gospel is straight forward. It may not be easy to accept, and the cost is something we’ll never ever grasp, but the message is there for all to understand. It’s foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor 2:14), but they are always looking for the next big thing, but when it’s time; they’ll get it. So now we simply share it; the Truth. There are always people searching, and we need to always be sharing. Their need is met by our natter and we have a divine appointment set up. Now the Holy Spirit does what is needed and then it’s between that guy or gal and God. Verse 33 of Acts chapter 17 tells us that many followed Paul and believed, some of them, the very same intellectuals. Don’t underestimate the need out there for this Message. Just do your little bit, and share the Gospel and God will take care of the rest and who knows; you may be instrumental in someone’s eternal destiny; how big is that!
The Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted
When you’re hurting, you can feel so alone. You’re alone with your thoughts that are often not healthy ones. You don’t know who to talk to, you don’t want to burden anyone with the pain in your heart. You pray but you don’t stop hurting and you want the dull ache inside of you to simply vanish; but it doesn’t. It stays way too long, and you can’t escape it. They say time heals all things but it’s totally dependent on what you do during that time, otherwise you just go numb, and you never really feel better. You feel hopeless, and some days are dark. Really dark.
As a believer in Jesus, I KNOW that this can never be the end of the story. I know I’m not alone. I know that my prayers are not ‘ricocheting off the ceiling’, and I know that there is hope. We don’t always feel it, but a life based on feelings is dangerous. We need to build our lives on the Truth, the Rock, on Jesus. He doesn’t change like our emotions do and He is as steady as you need Him to be. Remember that here at 1Africa, we are not in the business of white-washing over real issues. But we are definitely in the business of Hope.
Psalm 34 is the one to read if you feel like I’ve just described. Verses 17 and 18 say this:
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
God doesn’t pay us lip service. Real Love doesn’t do that. He really cares, despite what your circumstances might suggest, or what a hurt person might confess. God’s heart is for you, to see you always have hope and not just an empty promise, but action. He ensures that at the right time, there is healing.
I saw reference once to the Japanese art of Kintsukuroi, where a craftsman will repair a cracked or broken piece of pottery with resin that has been mixed with powdered gold , silver or platinum. The philosophy speaks to the understanding that the piece is now more beautiful for being broken.
God does this with us, doesn’t He? We are all broken to a certain degree, and that is where God meets us, but He is not and will never be content to leave us that way. He is all about redeeming us; from our sin firstly, and also to redeem us from our other brokenness. Draw close to God and allow Him to fulfill His promise to draw near to you (James 4:8) and let Him complete the work He has started; that despite what you’ve been through that He will heal and restore you. (Psalm 147:3)
Sermon in a Minute
We claim we don’t have enough time to get things done. We are instantly attracted to things like ‘Two Minute Noodles’ and ‘just-add-water cappuccinos’, and I’m starting to think that when it comes to the Truth of the Gospel, people are looking for things a little quicker too. “Don’t bore me with a long-winded sermon, ok? Just tell me what you wanna tell me!”
Your desire is our command! And yes, it’s possible to hit home hard with this sermon in a minute. Just over 60 seconds of relatable truth. Deep breath…and go!!
How Do You Do the Right Thing Every Day?
How do you live like a Christian? No, let me ask it like this rather….how do you do the right thing every day? I’m actually not sure how to ask this question to be totally honest, but I do know the kind of man I want to be. I want to be a God-honouring man. The kind that loves his wife and son and serves the people around him and makes them see that they have value. So do I do that? No, I don’t always get it right. I feel condemned and I’m unhappy with myself and I go to bed looking forward to tomorrow when God’s mercy is fresh and new so I can start again, hoping that TODAY I’ll get it right. But I’m fooling myself. Paul says in Romans 7 from verse 18 that even though he wanted to do the right things, he couldn’t. Let’s not forget that he was human as we are, even if he had it all figured out in the theology department. So he struggled just like I’m struggling and you’ll be a big fat liar if you deny that you struggle too sometimes.
So how do we live out our salvation with fear and trembling? (Phil 2:12) A good friend reminded me that my spirit is taken care of; it is free thanks to the Cross. The problem is that my sinful nature remains an ever present foe, just like Paul mentioned in Romans 7. It has become my daily struggle, to submit to Christ and to rely on His guidance daily…no hang on…every minute. I know the man that I want to be and I can’t do it alone. Praise God for His fresh mercies and His grace, but I’m still going to make every effort to please God with everything I do. Not to strive to receive the blessing, but to live FROM the blessing.
He gave it all for me, and I’ll live in a way that constantly says ‘thank you’! Will I get it wrong? Sometimes, but that’s not really the point; I’ve already made peace with the fact that I’m not perfect.
World Heart Day
Our hearts. We don’t give them too much thought until something goes wrong. Well, for the most part, that’s how it goes. Heart health is something that is close to my, well, heart. My uncle and my dad have some issues and now I know I need to look after mine. Genetics play a role in the way your ticker works so I take exercise and good nutrition very very seriously. And you should too. The World Heart Foundation tells us that heart disease and stroke is the world’s leading cause of death, with 17.3 million people dying every year. This is a really big deal and one of the reasons I’m so pumped (the puns come too easily it would seem!) that today is World Heart Day.
Happy Heart Day everyone!
World Heart Day is an annual event that takes place on 29 September and each year has a different theme. This year it’s all about creating heart healthy environments. The places in which we live, work and play should not increase our risk of cardiovascular disease. So the idea is that 80% of premature deaths can be avoided by controlling what you eat, drink and to avoid smoking and of course, the one with which most people struggle; exercising. So move your bodies, people. There are so many ways to do it and you don’t have to belong to a health club or gym to do it. The focus this year is also on ladies and their health. So much emphasis is placed on educating the men as they are always at greatest risk, but ladies are at risk too, in fact cardiovascular disease is the number 1 killer of women worldwide. The World Heart Federation is calling all ladies to get active and they are getting excited about the way that football can help. The main reason is because football can really be played almost anywhere and we’ve known this for ages, just look around the world. The Beautiful Game for the fairer sex!
You can see this has got my full support and you shouldn’t roll your eyes at this one. We all have only one, we all it; now start to love your heart a whole lot more. And this is not just for your sake, but for the ones who love you too.
Weekend Sports Wrap – 29 Sep ’14
It’s Monday and we know you want your sports fix! Red Cards, a 400th goal, victory for Team Europe and a hospital escape; a great weekend indeed, and we have all the details on your Weekend Sports Wrap.
Weekly Roundup – 26 Sep ’14
What is hot and trending this week in Sports and Entertainment? We’ve got your Weekly Roundup all sorted! From the joys of victory, to the courts of divorce, the glorious and the gory, we make sure you don’t miss a beat.
World Tourism Day
The 27th of September is World Tourism Day and here in Africa we get that it’s a day worth celebrating! With all that’s to see in this beautiful continent we’re not surprised that 33.8 million people spent their holiday time and hard-earned money here. And, it’s ever-growing, with the US$36 billion now amounting to 2.8% of the region’s GDP. 1 in 20 jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa are in the tourism industry so I think it’s a wonderful reason to celebrate what makes us unique in our various parts of Africa, and find ways to make it attractive for people from around the world to enjoy. The World Bank recently shared that about 3.8 million jobs (including 2.4 million indirect jobs) could be created by the tourism industry in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2021, so there’s more reason to get the formula right, so that number can grow.
So now, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) makes sure that we celebrate the day because it is so important to us, here in Africa and around the world. This year’s theme is “Tourism and Community Development”, focusing on the ability of tourism to empower people and provide them with skills that can bring change to their communities.
This is how it is happening:
What is special about YOUR local community that makes it worthwhile for tourists to visit?