Chagall's Demons

I have always been a huge fan of the Russian-French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985). Chagall has been described as the greatest Jewish painter of all time, and his surrealist paintings has mesmerized me since the first time I saw it. It was therefore a great honour when I got to see the roof of the Paris Opera House that was painted by ...Read more here

(I am running a new blog from my own artist website, and would still love for you to read my blogs. So pardon the link on this blog, but I will keep on publishing everything on both blogs. 

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My tipe Kerk

Ek is nog altyd baie uitgesproke oor Kerk vs Godsdiens, en hoe kerke meer mense wegjaag as na die Here toe lei. In ons moderne tyd het Kerke in elk geval net besighede geword wat deur geld gedryf word, en die oomblik wat als oor geld gaan, het jy "demanding" kliente. Jy het hulle geld gevat, jou siel verkoop, en nou gee jy hulle 'n weergawe van die evangelie wat hulle gelukkig sal hou. 

Hoeveel mense het nog daai persoonlike verbintenis met die Here? Wie weet nog hoe dit voel om in Sy teenwoordigheid te kom?

The Manna and Quail Principle

For years I jokingly said that I am definitely not a "manna and quails" type of person. Yes, I have to admit, I am a bit of a control freak. I am referring here to the Bible story where God provided food for the Israelites on a daily basis, and they were not allowed to collect more than a days worth of food at a time. 

The lesson to be learnt here, is that you can only concern yourself with today. If you got through today, that is enough. Trust God for the rest. I always thought of myself as someone with faith, and that hard work always pays off in the end. Having a business and being responsible for the welfare of a lot of people, I always make plans and think of every scenario ahead, consider opportunities and threats, and basically plan the whole year up front. It is the responsible thing to do, right? 

Don’t let your encounter with God leave you untouched!

Since it is Christmas time, I'd like to share with you one of my favourite poems and discuss the meaning of it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and find a little bit of the hope of the Christmas miracle inside this poem. 

Don’t let your encounter with God leave you untouched!

A Dangerous Prayer

I know they say "be careful what you wish for", but sometimes it is really good to be kicked out of your comfort zone, to grow and to strengthen your faith and character. A man who really knew what this meant, was St Francis Drake. 

Here is a prayer he wrote, which touches me deeply every time I read it:

Disturb us, Lord,
when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Suicide Watch.

The age old question: Can you go to Heaven if you commit suicide?

Charcoal  - Annemie Odendaal
"The Life she longed for"

How will we know? It's not like we can pick up the phone and ask them. Although I cannot conceive that our merciful God will not have any circumstantial clause where we can be forgiven and still go to heaven, I understand that it is a great sin and one the Bible warns us against. 

I also know that a lot of people have been saved by the bell so to speak, like the murderer who hung on the cross next to Jesus. When he realised Jesus was innocent, and took accountability for his own sins with true repentance, God told him that they will be together in Paradise that same day.