Truth Memoirs

Recently I needed to get to a meeting in Woodmead. I used the Gautrain and to get to the venue I had to get on the Gautrain Mini bus. After the meeting as I was walking back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to the station I realized that I did not have my cellphone with me. I tried to remember when was the last time I had used it, I remembered that I last used it before I boarded the bus. So I was hoping I lost it in the bus and the driver picked it up and gave it back to the lost and found offices at the Gautrain station, but I first went back to my meeting venue to ensure I did not leave it there but I did not find it when I got there. So I walked back to the bus stop and the bus came through. It turns out it was the same bus I used when I went to my meeting. When I told the driver about my story he told me he found my phone and he had not yet given it to the lost and found offices, he then gave it back to me because he remembered me. I was very relieved and I thanked him. As we

I have read quite a few self-help books and followed a few popular self-help gurus in my journey to find meaning and purpose. One common message that is communicated through these self-help books and gurus is that we must dig within ourselves to find the power to succeed because the power is in us. This journey circled me back to Christianity but this time I let Christianity describe itself through the Bible, through this understanding I found out that in fact Christianity if practiced as prescribed by the Bible offers something much more superior than the self-help books and the gurus.  Biblical definition of success The first thing I learnt is that the Biblical definition of success is much more than just material wealth and it is not about us as individuals it is a lot bigger. It seeks to satisfy our inner being, it is designed to make us whole so we can be successful in all areas of our lives, not just materially.  This kind of success positions us to be who God has created us to b

My understanding of freedom has always been limited to 2 definitions  1) the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants 2) the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. Recently I came across a 3rd definition which appeals more to me than the first two definitions. Here freedom is defined as seeing the world as God sees it.It took a while for this definition to sink in with me, but the more I thought about it and allowed it to sink in, the more I realised this is the best the best definition of freedom. The seen dimension is the shadow of the unseen dimension As human beings we exist in 2 dimensions the seen dimension (physical) and the unseen dimension (spiritual). The seen dimension is the shadow of the unseen dimension, which means what we see in the physical dimension is a shadow of what is really happening in the spiritual dimension. The seen dimension is created from the unseen dimension so it goes without saying that to understand the seen dimension we need access to t

I grew up in a denominational Christian background, but when I started a journey in search for meaning of life my first port of call was not the Bible it was self help books. I went for self help books because I did not see the connection between my faith and my life outside church. As far as I was concerned the Bible was just an ancient book which had no relevance to my everyday life experiences because the goal for my faith was to make sure I tick all the necessary boxes so I could get to heaven. Fortunately for me the search for truth and meaning led me back to my Christian faith, but with a new understanding. An understanding that enabled me to connect the dots between my search for meaning of life and the Bible. Bible necessary tool to reach my destiny Contrary to my past belief God never intended for me to live this life focused on going to heaven.God’s intention for my life is to live this life focused on being who he has created me to be, so he can show his goodness through me

Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers , is one of my favorite living people. He makes me proud to be a South African, through Gift of the Givers he is making a positive impact in the lives of many people and not just in South Africa all over the world wherever there is a crisis. Gift of the givers has such a good reputation that I believe many South Africans will call on them first, when in trouble before their own government. Dr Imtiaz Sooliman who is of Muslim faith puts on display the characteristics of Jesus Christ, a responsibility that should be borne by Christians. When Jesus Christ was on earth in the Christian faith we believe he was God in the flesh and we are called to be like him. Dr Sooliman in my opinion is more Christlike than most Christians I know. So does this prove then that there is more than one way to God? Are there multiple ways to God? Human beings exist in two dimensions: the natural dimension and the spiritual dimension. The natural dimension i

To endure my journey I need to focus on things that keep me in it even when the benefits are not visible to the naked eye. I have recently started running, this has been an on and off journey for me, but this time my perspective on it is completely different from any other instance I started this journey. In the past when I started running my perspective had been that running will help me lose weight and/or keep me fit, even though I am enjoying the benefits of losing weight and being fit my perspective on running has completely changed since I noticed the parallels between running and my spiritual journey. The benefits of running are not immediately visible it is easy for me to get discouraged, so there are three areas of focus I concentrate on when I am on the road to help me endure the run. Breath - I breathe differently when I am warming up than when I am in full running mode, I also breathe differently when I run uphill than when I run downhill. Incorrect breathing makes me r

It does not matter how good anything is as long as it excludes God it will never be good enough for me. I was once a member of a network marketing group whose main selling point was financial freedom.I believed strongly in the self help industry so the other attraction to me was the access to self help books and tapes which were provided to members.  When I was in this network marketing group we were encouraged to listen to the tapes at least once a day.I did not listen to anything else when I stepped into my car but those tapes, but unfortunately they had no positive impact on my life nor did the books help in building up the business. As a result I quit after a year or so. I believe many people have benefited from self help strategies but sadly I can't say the same for me and t his unfortunately was a pattern in many other self help endeavors I engaged in. Recently I reflected on why this was the case because the self help industry is a multi million dollar industry which means

God is more interested in me reaching my earthly destination than he is in me having a comfortable life. I grew up understanding that God's interest in humanity is to serve us and make life comfortable.But my personal experience in the last few years seems to suggest otherwise a lot has gone wrong in my life despite my best efforts. None of my prayers have been answered, instead things have gone from bad to worse. As a matter of fact it seems the harder I try to get closer to God the worse my situation gets. This has obviously left me discouraged and doubting my faith, but as I reflected on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ I realized that I feel the way I feel because my understanding of God is misguided and unbiblical. The purpose for Jesus’s crucifixion was not only to die for our sins but it was also meant to demonstrate to us God’s interest in us while we are on the earth. EARTHLY DESTINY God’s interest in us is to restore us to be who he has originally created us to be.He crea

Recently while searching for accommodation I went through 3 deals which all fell through at the last minute. After the 3rd deal fell through a friend asked me whether I have been praying and I said yes, and she advised me to pray harder. Pray hard is a phrase we commonly use, I have used this phrase or thought of it because of the belief that the harder I pray the more likely that God will fulfill my expectations. This belief is based on the assumption that God exists to fulfill my plans but in truth I exist to fulfill God’s plan on the earth. A plan that is meant to impact the lives of others and benefit me. No is also an answer  On the 4th attempt to find accommodation a deal was finally sealed. It is not in the location I would have personally chosen but a deal was finalized nevertheless When the other 3 deals fell through I really thought God was not hearing me or he had deserted me and truth be told I felt guilty because I thought I did not pray hard enough. Even though I was feel

I had been taught that the Christian journey is about focusing on going to heaven. But I then observed that in the bible Jesus speaks a lot more about the Kingdom of God than he speaks about heaven. It has also become clear to me that the Kingdom of God and Heaven are not the same thing. The Kingdom of God is a colony of Heaven on earth. This means access to the Kingdom of God is available here on earth whereas access to heaven is only available after time on earth. It is therefore my conviction that God’s will for his children is to prioritize the Kingdom of God over Heaven because of the following reasons  God's purpose on earth is fulfilled God’s purpose on earth is to influence the world through his children, but this can only happen when they are in alignment with his Son Jesus Christ. When God’s children prioritize his Kingdom they effectively activate the process of aligning themselves with Jesus Christ enabling God to fulfill his purpose of impacting the world through them.

I recently watched a series on Showmax titled - The VOW. It is a documentary that follows the experiences of people deeply involved in the self-improvement group NXIVM, an organization under siege with charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy brought against its highest members and founder Keith Ranier.  I previously held very harsh views against people who have fallen victims of cults but after watching this documentary I have learnt not to be quick to judge, because the story of the victims in this documentary could have easily been my story. The people narrating their experiences in this documentary are good people with sober habits. They were looking to find meaning and purpose for their lives, a journey I believe we should all embark on, because when we find our life purpose we are then well positioned to make an impact in our society and communities.I am currently on a journey of self discovery and that is why I can identify with them and watching their story

I recently recieved an email invite to an event titled Signs of Christ’s return. It was a free event but I chose to ignore the invitation because the subject is a turnoff for me. I am generally not interested in teachings or anything to do with identifying the signs of Christ’s return or signs for the end of times. The reason I have this attitude towards this subject is that when I was in primary school we had a teacher who in her effort to teach us about the Gospel spent a lot of time telling us about the end of times and the consequences for us if we do not repent. I don't know which church she belonged to but they seemed to have a lot of graphic literature about the end of times.She happily shared those books with us and they left me traumatized. I still remember to this day how I felt reading the books then as if it was yesterday. When I got to high school I joined the Student Christian Movement(SCM) because it offered me refuge from the ‘initiation ritual’ which was done to n

A few weeks ago I attended a funeral and the person who was  being laid to rest was a member of a church that is distinguished by their uniform and a badge. So naturally the funeral service was led by his church. Whilst we were at the graveyard another funeral procession came to bury their loved one not very far from where we were. This funeral service was also led by a church which wore uniforms but their uniform was different from the one I was attending. They had isgubhu (drum) which they used as part of their worship. The one thing two churches had in common was that they were both quoting scriptures from the bible. This scene triggered a question that I have been struggling to get an answer to for a long time: What does this say about Christianity and God? Two churches who clearly believe in God as revealed through the bible but they clearly have different interpretations of what the bible says given their differing uniforms and differing ways in which they worship. I also could

When I was still a member of a denominational church, going to a church service was a tick box exercise for me because I believed God blesses us when we observe religious rituals like regular church attendance and I did not want to miss out on God’s blessings. Another ritual which I observed fellow denominational church members perform was fasting during Easter, this is one religious ritual I never participated in because I could not find anyone to convincingly explain to me why this was done.  The other reason I did not participate in this ritual was that most of those who participated were committed to change during the period of fasting only.They would go back to their old ways immediately afterwards, so my observation was that this ritual did not have a lasting impact. Nevertheless I admired those who participated in it every year, because even though I could not see any physical impact on how this has changed them I believed they have positioned themselves well to receive God’s be

Closed doors are the reason I started  my journey of faith in Christ. Life did not get better. The closed doors did not open after committing my life to God. As a matter of fact things got worse for me to a point that  I am worse off financially now than I was before I started on this journey.  My situation got so bad that people close to me and those watching my life from the sidelines have questioned whether God is in my story or have I been misled. Some have asked me this directly but I am sure everyone who knows my current situation is wondering the same thing. I must admit I have been wondering the same thing lately ,as a result  I have been feeling discouraged and starting to doubt my faith until I heard  our Pastor who was teaching about walking in wisdom say “God does not lead us by open doors He leads us by his Word”. This stayed with me for the rest of the service. I don't remember anything else that was said. These words stuck with me and I was encouraged. What does this